Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards
In 2011, Sarah NaudA? and Matt Stanley sat down with the chairman of Telecom New Zealand, Wayne Boyd. Telecom, a publicly listed company and the largest telecom provider in New Zealand, was being divided into two publicly traded companies, Chorus, a telecom infrastructure company, and new Telecom, a telecom retail services provider. In connection with this split, NaudA? and Stanley were charged with overseeing the process of creating two new boards of directors for these companies. As part of this process, the team reviews the roles and responsibilities of a board, defines what capabilities the new boards need, and reduces a preliminary list of candidates to a short list. They must now use this short list to create two strong boards.
Swot Analysis of "Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards" written by Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Telecom Boards facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Customers, Decision making, Diversity, Human resource management, Influence, IT, Leadership, Organizational structure, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Telecom Boards, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Telecom Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Telecom Boards
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 Telecom Boards
Strengths Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Telecom Boards in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Telecom Boards 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Telecom Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Telecom Boards has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Telecom Boards 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.
Learning organization
- Telecom Boards 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 Telecom Boards is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Telecom Boards in the sector have low bargaining power. Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Telecom Boards to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Telecom Boards has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Telecom Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Telecom Boards is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Telecom Boards to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Telecom Boards to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Telecom Boards is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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.
Analytics focus
– Telecom Boards 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 Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Telecom Boards is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards HBR case study mentions - Telecom Boards takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards, in the dynamic environment Telecom Boards has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Telecom Boards has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Telecom Boards 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Telecom Boards 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Telecom Boards 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
Telecom Boards 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards, 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 Telecom Boards products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Telecom Boards needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Telecom Boards 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 - Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Telecom Boards has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Telecom Boards, firm in the HBR case study Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards | 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards are -
Buying journey improvements
– Telecom Boards can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Telecom Boards 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Telecom Boards can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Telecom Boards 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Telecom Boards is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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
– Telecom Boards 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Telecom Boards 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, Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Telecom Boards to increase its market reach. Telecom Boards 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Telecom Boards 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Telecom Boards 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 Telecom Boards to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Telecom Boards 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Telecom Boards 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Telecom Boards has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Telecom Boards to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards case study. Telecom Boards can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards are -
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Regulatory challenges
– Telecom Boards 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Telecom Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Telecom Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards, Telecom Boards 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Telecom Boards 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Telecom Boards has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Telecom Boards 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Telecom Boards with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Telecom Boards 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. Telecom Boards 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. Telecom Boards needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Telecom Boards can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Telecom Boards business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards 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 Telecom Boards needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
