Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version

Seneca is a three-party negotiation-mediation simulation. The context is a product failure crisis in a manufacturing company with highly autonomous units. The heads of two divisions are in a dispute over who has responsibility for failures in a key product. The head of a third division is attempting to mediate a resolution to the dispute. Unlike many mediation simulations, the mediator has both independent interests and some power to influence outcomes. Two versions of the mediator role are available. In Seneca Systems (A), the mediator can make a financial contribution to solving the problem and hence has bargaining power. In Seneca Systems (B), the mediator has some coercive power in the form of influence with the CEO and could impose a solution if the parties are unable to resolve the dispute themselves. The core teaching issues concern the tradeoffs inherent in having vested interests and power as a mediator.

Authors :: Michael D. Watkins

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Conflict, Influence, Negotiations, Organizational culture, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version" written by Michael D. Watkins includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mediator Seneca facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Influence, Negotiations, Organizational culture and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mediator Seneca, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mediator Seneca 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mediator Seneca
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 Mediator Seneca

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Strengths Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Mediator Seneca in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Mediator Seneca is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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

- Mediator Seneca 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 Mediator Seneca is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Mediator Seneca 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Strong track record of project management

– Mediator Seneca is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Training and development

– Mediator Seneca has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Mediator Seneca 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Mediator Seneca is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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.

High brand equity

– Mediator Seneca has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mediator Seneca to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Mediator Seneca in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mediator Seneca digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mediator Seneca 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.

Organizational Resilience of Mediator Seneca

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mediator Seneca does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

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Weaknesses Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Mediator Seneca has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mediator Seneca 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. Mediator Seneca 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mediator Seneca is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mediator Seneca 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Mediator Seneca 's lucrative customers.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Mediator Seneca 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 - Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Need for greater diversity

– Mediator Seneca 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Mediator Seneca products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mediator Seneca needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mediator Seneca 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael D. Watkins suggests that, Mediator Seneca 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.

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Opportunities Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version | 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version are -

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 Mediator Seneca 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mediator Seneca to increase its market reach. Mediator Seneca 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.

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. Mediator Seneca can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mediator Seneca can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Mediator Seneca has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mediator Seneca to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version case study. Mediator Seneca can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Mediator Seneca 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Mediator Seneca 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mediator Seneca can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mediator Seneca operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mediator Seneca 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mediator Seneca 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 Mediator Seneca to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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 Mediator Seneca in the consumer business. Now Mediator Seneca can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mediator Seneca 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mediator Seneca 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.

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Threats Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version are -

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. Mediator Seneca can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Mediator Seneca business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Mediator Seneca

– 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 Mediator Seneca.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mediator Seneca with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Mediator Seneca has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mediator Seneca 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Mediator Seneca 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.

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 Mediator Seneca.

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

– Mediator Seneca 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. Mediator Seneca can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

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 Mediator Seneca in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Mediator Seneca 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mediator Seneca 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version .

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Seneca Systems (A): General and Confidential Instructions for Dr. D. Monosoff, Vice President, Data Devices Division, Portuguese Version 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 Mediator Seneca needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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