Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden
Sweden's Highland District County Hospital, similar to a community hospital in the US, undertook a major restructuring to integrate care delivery for medical conditions served by the Department of Medicine. Each subspecialty within the Department would form a single, co-located unit with its own budget that encompassed both inpatient and outpatient care. This case examines the experience of the Highland Gastroenterology Unit, comparing the delivery model for inflammatory bowel disease in 2001 and 2009, before and after the reorganization. The case can be used to examine health care provider strategy, integrated care delivery, and quality measurement. The case also profiles Sweden's single-payer health care system, allowing for a discussion of national health systems and health policy.
Authors :: Michael E. Porter, Jennifer F. Baron, Martin Rejler
Swot Analysis of "Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden" written by Michael E. Porter, Jennifer F. Baron, Martin Rejler includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Highland Care facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Organizational structure, Strategy execution and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Highland Care, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Highland Care operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Highland Care
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Highland Care
Strengths Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Highland Care in Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Highland Care has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Highland Care has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Strong track record of project management
– Highland Care is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Highland Care is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Highland Care in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Highland Care has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Highland Care to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Highland Care to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Highland Care has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Highland Care has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Highland Care to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Highland Care has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Highland Care in the sector have low bargaining power. Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Highland Care to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Highland Care are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Highland Care is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Michael E. Porter, Jennifer F. Baron, Martin Rejler can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Weaknesses Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Highland Care products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Highland Care needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Highland Care has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden, in the dynamic environment Highland Care has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Highland Care has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Highland Care has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Highland Care has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Highland Care 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Highland Care has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden, is just above the industry average. Highland Care needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Highland Care has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Highland Care is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Highland Care can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Highland Care can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Manufacturing automation
– Highland Care can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Highland Care to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Highland Care to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Highland Care to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Highland Care can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Highland Care can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Highland Care can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Developing new processes and practices
– Highland Care can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Highland Care in the consumer business. Now Highland Care can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Highland Care to increase its market reach. Highland Care will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Highland Care to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Highland Care can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Highland Care can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Highland Care operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Highland Care is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden, Highland Care may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Highland Care in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Highland Care demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Highland Care
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Highland Care.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Highland Care will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Highland Care high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Highland Care with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Highland Care can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden .
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Highland Care needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Highland Care.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Highland Care in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Highland District County Hospital: Gastroenterology Care in Sweden is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Highland Care needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
