Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A)
Kodak's Health Imaging division is the second largest business unit within Kodak, a worldwide provider of consumer, professional, and health imaging products. The regional manager of the Health Imaging division is preparing her presentation for the company's senior management retreat. The East Asian Crisis and its impact on the division are on the agenda. The regional manager reflects on the magnitude of the crisis, and she wonders whether the company's responses were reactive instead of strategic. There will be some tough questions to rake through at the meeting. Did the Health Imaging department respond effectively to the crisis? Is Kodak better off because of the crisis? What will the short-term and long-term effects be? Will Kodak's response to the East Asian Crisis preserve customer relationships for the years to come? Information pertaining to Health Imaging's strategic view of the region, the company's organizational structure, and the levers employed by Kodak in response to the crisis all serve to produce some answers for the division's future consideration.
Authors :: Nancy Sousa, Richard Demartino, Stanley Widrick
Swot Analysis of "Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A)" written by Nancy Sousa, Richard Demartino, Stanley Widrick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Imaging Kodak's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, International business, Marketing, Organizational structure, Pricing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Imaging Kodak's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Imaging Kodak's 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Imaging Kodak's
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 Imaging Kodak's
Strengths Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Imaging Kodak's in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Imaging Kodak's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Imaging Kodak's 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Imaging Kodak's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Imaging Kodak's 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Imaging Kodak's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Imaging Kodak's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Imaging Kodak's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Imaging Kodak's 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.
Analytics focus
– Imaging Kodak's 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 Nancy Sousa, Richard Demartino, Stanley Widrick 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Imaging Kodak's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Imaging Kodak's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Imaging Kodak's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Imaging Kodak's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Imaging Kodak's 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Imaging Kodak's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Imaging Kodak's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Imaging Kodak's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Imaging Kodak's 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Imaging Kodak's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Imaging Kodak's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Imaging Kodak's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Imaging Kodak's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Imaging Kodak's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Imaging Kodak's 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 - Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Imaging Kodak's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Imaging Kodak's, firm in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Imaging Kodak's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Imaging Kodak's 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. Imaging Kodak's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A), it seems that the employees of Imaging Kodak's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Imaging Kodak's 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.
Opportunities Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) | 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) are -
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. Imaging Kodak's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Imaging Kodak's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Imaging Kodak's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Imaging Kodak's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Imaging Kodak's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Imaging Kodak's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Imaging Kodak's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Imaging Kodak's 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.
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. Imaging Kodak's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Imaging Kodak's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Imaging Kodak's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Imaging Kodak's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) case study. Imaging Kodak's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Imaging Kodak's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Imaging Kodak's 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 Imaging Kodak's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Imaging Kodak's 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.
Threats Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) are -
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. Imaging Kodak's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Imaging Kodak's 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. Imaging Kodak's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Imaging Kodak's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Imaging Kodak's 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) .
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. Imaging Kodak's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Imaging Kodak's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Imaging Kodak's 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 Imaging Kodak's 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 Imaging Kodak's 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.
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
– Imaging Kodak's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Imaging Kodak's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Imaging Kodak's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Imaging Kodak's 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (A) 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 Imaging Kodak's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.