Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller
The chief executive of Barry-Wehmiller, a large maker of industrial equipment, has resolved to run the company via "truly human leadership" in which "success is measured by the way we touch the lives of people." With unusual people practices and a distinctive strategy, the company has generated enviable financial results. During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the company went to great lengths to avoid layoffs. But as the case opens in 2013, one division of the company faces a sharp downturn, and the head of the division must decide whether to let employees go. In light of Barry-Wehmiller's people practices and strategy, what should he do?
Swot Analysis of "Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller" written by Dylan Minor, Jan W. Rivkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Barry Wehmiller facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Barry Wehmiller, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Barry Wehmiller
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 Barry Wehmiller
Strengths Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Barry Wehmiller in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Barry Wehmiller 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Barry Wehmiller are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Barry Wehmiller is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Barry Wehmiller to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Barry Wehmiller to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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.
Training and development
– Barry Wehmiller has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Barry Wehmiller is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Barry Wehmiller has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Barry Wehmiller 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller - 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 Barry Wehmiller
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Barry Wehmiller does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Barry Wehmiller is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Barry Wehmiller 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Barry Wehmiller 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, Dylan Minor, Jan W. Rivkin suggests that, Barry Wehmiller 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, Barry Wehmiller is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Barry Wehmiller 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Barry Wehmiller 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Barry Wehmiller is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Barry Wehmiller is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Barry Wehmiller needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Barry Wehmiller to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller HBR case study mentions - Barry Wehmiller takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Opportunities Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
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. Barry Wehmiller can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Barry Wehmiller is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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 Barry Wehmiller 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Barry Wehmiller to increase its market reach. Barry Wehmiller will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Buying journey improvements
– Barry Wehmiller can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Barry Wehmiller 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, Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Barry Wehmiller can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Barry Wehmiller can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Barry Wehmiller can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Barry Wehmiller in the consumer business. Now Barry Wehmiller can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
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.
Increasing wage structure of Barry Wehmiller
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Barry Wehmiller.
Environmental challenges
– Barry Wehmiller 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. Barry Wehmiller can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller 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.
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 Barry Wehmiller business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Barry Wehmiller 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. Barry Wehmiller 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Barry Wehmiller 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.
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 Barry Wehmiller in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.