HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee
Accompanied by product #PON254Two-party, multi-issue negotiation between a human resources director and a prospective employee over terms of hire that highlight cultural differences. This is a negotiation between a recently hired computer programmer and a Human Resources Director regarding the new employee's salary, benefits, and start date. This is a role play case.
Swot Analysis of "HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee" written by Robert Smith, Ericka Gray includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Prospective Pon254two facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Negotiations, Personnel policies and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Prospective Pon254two, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Prospective Pon254two 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Prospective Pon254two
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 Prospective Pon254two
Strengths HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Prospective Pon254two in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Prospective Pon254two 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Prospective Pon254two in the sector have low bargaining power. HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Prospective Pon254two to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Prospective Pon254two in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Prospective Pon254two is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Prospective Pon254two has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Prospective Pon254two to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Prospective Pon254two to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Prospective Pon254two 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 Robert Smith, Ericka Gray 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Prospective Pon254two 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.
Organizational Resilience of Prospective Pon254two
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Prospective Pon254two does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Prospective Pon254two is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Prospective Pon254two is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Learning organization
- Prospective Pon254two is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Prospective Pon254two is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Prospective Pon254two 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee, in the dynamic environment Prospective Pon254two has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Prospective Pon254two has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Prospective Pon254two is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Prospective Pon254two 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Prospective Pon254two has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Prospective Pon254two 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 - HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Prospective Pon254two has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Prospective Pon254two even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Prospective Pon254two supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Prospective Pon254two vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee, it seems that the employees of Prospective Pon254two don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 Prospective Pon254two has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Prospective Pon254two products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Prospective Pon254two needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee | 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee are -
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 Prospective Pon254two 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Prospective Pon254two 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Prospective Pon254two has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Prospective Pon254two to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Prospective Pon254two can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Prospective Pon254two 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 Prospective Pon254two 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 Prospective Pon254two to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Prospective Pon254two can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Prospective Pon254two 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Prospective Pon254two can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Prospective Pon254two in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Prospective Pon254two 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. Prospective Pon254two 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.
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 Prospective Pon254two in the consumer business. Now Prospective Pon254two can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Prospective Pon254two is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee are -
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 Prospective Pon254two in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Prospective Pon254two is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Prospective Pon254two
– 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 Prospective Pon254two.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Prospective Pon254two 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Prospective Pon254two 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Prospective Pon254two with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Prospective Pon254two 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.
Environmental challenges
– Prospective Pon254two needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Prospective Pon254two can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Prospective Pon254two needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Prospective Pon254two can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Regulatory challenges
– Prospective Pon254two needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Prospective Pon254two 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 HIRING A NEWTONIAN - Confidential Instructions for the Prospective Employee 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 Prospective Pon254two needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.