From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc.
Palm Inc. was the "founder" of an entire industry. In the mid nineties, the firm had developed the first hand-held which could be marketed successfully. They became the uncontested leaders within the young and extremely dynamic industry within short time - both with regard to hardware as well as software. By 2010, however, Palm was not in a good shape. The new product, a top-notch smartphone was not very successful and there were even signs of Palm's bankruptcy on the horizon. But how could it have come this far? Palm had been the leader in the market of handheld computers with high market share and profitability, and a brand name recognition level many other firms could only dream of. So what had happened to Palm?
Swot Analysis of "From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc." written by Anne K. Hoenen, Phillip C. Nell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Palm Helds facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption,
increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Palm Helds, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Palm Helds 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Palm Helds
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 Palm Helds
Strengths From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Palm Helds in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Palm Helds 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Palm Helds is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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
- Palm Helds 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 Palm Helds is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Palm Helds is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Palm Helds
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Palm Helds does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Palm Helds digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Palm Helds has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Palm Helds in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Palm Helds in the sector have low bargaining power. From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Palm Helds to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Palm Helds has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Palm Helds to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Palm Helds 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Palm Helds has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Palm Helds 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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.
Weaknesses From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Palm Helds products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Palm Helds needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc., is just above the industry average. Palm Helds 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Palm Helds 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. Palm Helds 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Palm Helds 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 - From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Palm Helds is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Palm Helds needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Palm Helds to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc., in the dynamic environment Palm Helds has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Palm Helds has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 Palm Helds 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Palm Helds needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
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 Palm Helds supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Palm Helds vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Palm Helds has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Palm Helds 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.
Opportunities From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. | 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Palm Helds 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Palm Helds has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Palm Helds 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Palm Helds 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Palm Helds can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Palm Helds 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.
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. Palm Helds 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. Palm Helds 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Palm Helds 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Palm Helds to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Palm Helds can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Palm Helds can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Palm Helds is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Palm Helds 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Palm Helds can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. are -
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 Palm Helds.
Increasing wage structure of Palm Helds
– 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 Palm Helds.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Palm Helds has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Palm Helds needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Palm Helds 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Palm Helds 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 Palm Helds with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Palm Helds 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.
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 Palm Helds in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc., Palm Helds 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 .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Palm Helds can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Palm Helds is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Palm Helds 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 From Hand-helds to Smart Phones - The Pioneers of Palm Inc. 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 Palm Helds needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.