Swot Analysis of "Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video" written by Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Venkatesan Ravi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Venkatesan Ravi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Venkatesan Ravi 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Venkatesan Ravi
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 Venkatesan Ravi
Strengths Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Venkatesan Ravi in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Venkatesan Ravi 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 Venkatesan Ravi in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Venkatesan Ravi has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Venkatesan Ravi in the sector have low bargaining power. Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Venkatesan Ravi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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.
Organizational Resilience of Venkatesan Ravi
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Venkatesan Ravi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Venkatesan Ravi has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Training and development
– Venkatesan Ravi has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Venkatesan Ravi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Venkatesan Ravi to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Venkatesan Ravi 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Venkatesan Ravi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Venkatesan Ravi 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 Venkatesan Ravi is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Venkatesan Ravi 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 Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu 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.
Weaknesses Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Venkatesan Ravi products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Venkatesan Ravi needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Venkatesan Ravi 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Venkatesan Ravi 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Venkatesan Ravi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video, is just above the industry average. Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Venkatesan Ravi 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 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 Venkatesan Ravi supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Venkatesan Ravi vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Venkatesan Ravi is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video | 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Venkatesan Ravi 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
– Venkatesan Ravi can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Venkatesan Ravi 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 Venkatesan Ravi to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Venkatesan Ravi can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Venkatesan Ravi operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Venkatesan Ravi 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Venkatesan Ravi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Venkatesan Ravi 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 Venkatesan Ravi 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 Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Venkatesan Ravi 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. Venkatesan Ravi 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. Venkatesan Ravi 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.
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. Venkatesan Ravi can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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. Venkatesan Ravi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Venkatesan Ravi 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video .
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. Venkatesan Ravi 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 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
– Venkatesan Ravi 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. Venkatesan Ravi can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video, Venkatesan Ravi 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Venkatesan Ravi with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Venkatesan Ravi has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Venkatesan Ravi 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Venkatesan Ravi is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Venkatesan Ravi 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.
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 Venkatesan Ravi in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India -Video 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 Venkatesan Ravi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.