Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans
Can an innovation model be used to solve seemingly intractable problems consistently, reliably and effectively? In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies founder and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced a $24 million initiative to fund innovation teams in five U.S. cities. The innovation team program was created to advance government innovation by increasing innovation capacity within municipal government-by helping mayors design and implement solutions to their most urgent problems. Bloomberg Philanthropies developed 4-prong Innovation Model that drew on cutting-edge innovation practices from the public and private sectors and selected five large cities to use the model to solve problems ranging from high murder rates to blighted neighborhoods. This case illustrates the use of Bloomberg's innovation model in two of these cities-Memphis and New Orleans-allowing students to compare and contrast each city's use and application of the model. Students will consider the challenge of creating sustainable capacity for problem-centric innovation. Case number 2053.0
Swot Analysis of "Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans" written by Jorrit de Jong, Laura Winig includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Innovation Bloomberg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Innovation and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Innovation Bloomberg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Innovation Bloomberg
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 Innovation Bloomberg
Strengths Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Innovation Bloomberg in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Innovation Bloomberg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovation Bloomberg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Innovation Bloomberg has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Innovation Bloomberg in the sector have low bargaining power. Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Innovation Bloomberg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovation Bloomberg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Innovation Bloomberg is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Innovation Bloomberg has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Organizational Resilience of Innovation Bloomberg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Innovation Bloomberg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Innovation Bloomberg 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 Jorrit de Jong, Laura Winig 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Innovation Bloomberg 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
– Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Innovation Bloomberg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Innovation Bloomberg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Innovation Bloomberg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovation Bloomberg 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans, in the dynamic environment Innovation Bloomberg has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Innovation Bloomberg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Innovation Bloomberg is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Innovation Bloomberg needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Innovation Bloomberg to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Innovation Bloomberg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Innovation Bloomberg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans, is just above the industry average. Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Innovation Bloomberg 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 - Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Innovation Bloomberg supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Innovation Bloomberg vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Innovation Bloomberg 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jorrit de Jong, Laura Winig suggests that, Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Opportunities Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans | 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Innovation Bloomberg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Innovation Bloomberg 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. Innovation Bloomberg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Innovation Bloomberg in the consumer business. Now Innovation Bloomberg can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Innovation Bloomberg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Innovation Bloomberg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans case study. Innovation Bloomberg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Innovation Bloomberg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Innovation Bloomberg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Innovation Bloomberg 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, Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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. Innovation Bloomberg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Innovation Bloomberg 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.
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 Innovation Bloomberg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Innovation Bloomberg is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Innovation Bloomberg 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Innovation Bloomberg 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.
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. Innovation Bloomberg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Innovation Bloomberg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Innovation Bloomberg 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Innovation Bloomberg.
Environmental challenges
– Innovation Bloomberg 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. Innovation Bloomberg can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovating by the Book: The Introduction of Innovation Teams in Memphis and New Orleans 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 Innovation Bloomberg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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