KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand
In the 1990s, following the fall of the Soviet empire, a wave of English-language newspaper emerged in Eastern Europe. Among the most significant was the Kyiv Post, which by the end of the decade had established a reputation as the leading independent news source in Ukraine. From its shoestring beginnings, by 2006 it had become a $US55 million enterprise. However, the newspaper's independence and survival was severely tested in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Swot Analysis of "KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand" written by Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Mark Hunter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kyiv Us55 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kyiv Us55, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kyiv Us55 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kyiv Us55
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 Kyiv Us55
Strengths KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kyiv Us55 in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kyiv Us55 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Kyiv Us55 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
– KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kyiv Us55 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kyiv Us55 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kyiv Us55 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kyiv Us55 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kyiv Us55 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kyiv Us55 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kyiv Us55 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Kyiv Us55 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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
– Kyiv Us55 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Kyiv Us55 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 Kyiv Us55 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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.
Learning organization
- Kyiv Us55 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 Kyiv Us55 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Kyiv Us55
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kyiv Us55 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Mark Hunter suggests that, Kyiv Us55 is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kyiv Us55 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kyiv Us55 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 Kyiv Us55 's lucrative customers.
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 Kyiv Us55 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kyiv Us55 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 Kyiv Us55 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kyiv Us55, firm in the HBR case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kyiv Us55 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kyiv Us55 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kyiv Us55 is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand, 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kyiv Us55 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.
Opportunities KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand | 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kyiv Us55 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kyiv Us55 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Kyiv Us55 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. Kyiv Us55 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kyiv Us55 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 Kyiv Us55 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kyiv Us55 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Kyiv Us55 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kyiv Us55 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kyiv Us55 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kyiv Us55 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, KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kyiv Us55 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kyiv Us55 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand case study. Kyiv Us55 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Kyiv Us55 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kyiv Us55 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kyiv Us55 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.
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. Kyiv Us55 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kyiv Us55 is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Kyiv Us55 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Kyiv Us55 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kyiv Us55 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kyiv Us55 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kyiv Us55 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kyiv Us55 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand, Kyiv Us55 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 Kyiv Us55 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 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.
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 Kyiv Us55 in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kyiv Us55 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.
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. Kyiv Us55 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kyiv Us55 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 KP Media (C): Rebuilding the Brand 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 Kyiv Us55 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.