Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena

In the summer of 2010, the members of the business development team of Target Systems were carefully considering the possibility of entering the Electronic Health Information (EHI) systems arena. The company had both breadth and depth of experience in providing logistics, project management and information technology (IT) services to clients in the public and private sector. Although the employees of Target Systems were experts in a full range of IT services, no one in the company had deep expertise about the way IT applications were being used to manage patient care or administer health care organizations. The lack of expertise implied that a movement by Target Systems into the EHI systems arena would call for the company to simultaneously develop new products and services for a new set of clients -- to engage in growth by related diversification. That strategy would stand in contrast to the growth by concentration strategy the team had employed throughout company history. To pursue a diversification strategy the team would have to decide if it should provide services to regional health information organizations, hospitals or individual physicians' practices. It would also have to decide whether it would cultivate new capabilities by investing in internal development or by seeking a strategic partner that was already operating in the arena. Ultimately, the way the business development team weighed the opportunities versus the challenges of adopting a new growth strategy in the context of a still uncertain external environment would strongly influence its decision as to whether or not the company should enter this new arena.

Authors :: Michael J. Fratantuono, David M Sarcone

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: , SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena" written by Michael J. Fratantuono, David M Sarcone includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Arena Ehi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Arena Ehi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Arena Ehi 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Arena Ehi
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 Arena Ehi

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Strengths Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Arena Ehi in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena Harvard Business Review case study are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Arena Ehi in the sector have low bargaining power. Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Arena Ehi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Innovation driven organization

– Arena Ehi is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Analytics focus

– Arena Ehi 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 Michael J. Fratantuono, David M Sarcone 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.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Arena Ehi 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 Arena Ehi in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Arena Ehi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Arena Ehi 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.

Strong track record of project management

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

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Arena Ehi 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Arena Ehi 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 Arena Ehi is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Arena Ehi has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Organizational Resilience of Arena Ehi

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

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Weaknesses Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena HBR case study mentions - Arena Ehi 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Arena Ehi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Arena Ehi 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Arena Ehi is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena, 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.

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 Arena Ehi supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Arena Ehi vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Arena Ehi 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. Arena Ehi 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Arena Ehi, firm in the HBR case study Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Arena Ehi 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael J. Fratantuono, David M Sarcone suggests that, Arena Ehi 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Arena Ehi products

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

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Opportunities Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena | 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Arena Ehi 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Arena Ehi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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 Arena Ehi 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Arena Ehi 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Arena Ehi is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Arena Ehi 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Arena Ehi 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Arena Ehi 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, Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Arena Ehi can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Arena Ehi 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 Arena Ehi can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Arena Ehi 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. Arena Ehi 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Arena Ehi has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Arena Ehi to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena case study. Arena Ehi can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Arena Ehi 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.

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Threats Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena are -

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 Arena Ehi in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Arena Ehi 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena .

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 Arena Ehi.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

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

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. Arena Ehi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena, Arena Ehi 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 .

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Arena Ehi 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.

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. Arena Ehi 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 Arena Ehi business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Arena Ehi

– 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 Arena Ehi.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Arena Ehi 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Arena Ehi 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Target Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronic Health Information System Arena 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 Arena Ehi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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