Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division
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.
Swot Analysis of "Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division" 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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
Strengths Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mediator Seneca in Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division Harvard Business Review case study are -
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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mediator Seneca is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mediator Seneca in the sector have low bargaining power. Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mediator Seneca to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mediator Seneca has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mediator Seneca 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mediator Seneca 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 Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
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.
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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Mediator Seneca is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mediator Seneca is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mediator Seneca is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, it seems that the employees of Mediator Seneca don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, is just above the industry average. Mediator Seneca 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mediator Seneca 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 Mediator Seneca has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Mediator Seneca supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mediator Seneca vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mediator Seneca 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.
Opportunities Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division | 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Mediator Seneca 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mediator Seneca 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, Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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.
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. Mediator Seneca can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mediator Seneca 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mediator Seneca is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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.
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. Mediator Seneca 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. Mediator Seneca 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.
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.
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.
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.
Threats Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division, Mediator Seneca 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 .
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.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Mediator Seneca needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mediator Seneca is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mediator Seneca 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
– 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mediator Seneca 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.
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.
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Seneca Systems (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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 (B): General and Confidential Instructions for C. Stevens, Vice President, Assembly Division 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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