From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change
The global financial crisis of 2008 represents one of the best possible examples of the dangers posed by narrow mental models, say the authors. Before the crisis, people either failed to make sense of what was happening or chose to ignore it because of the profit opportunities. Some of the most basic assumptions implicit in the prevailing worldview before the collapse - such as ever-rising home prices and stock markets - were patently false, but this mindset was so powerful that by and large, objections were not raised. While such narrow mental models can obscure potential threats, the right mental models can open up new opportunities, they say. The authors provide eight strategies for developing a portfolio of mental models and overcoming inhibitors to change. In the end they prove that mental models are not just an abstract concept: millions of dollars will be won or lost based on the mindset of the person making the decision.
Swot Analysis of "From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change" written by Yoram (jerry) Wind, Colin Crook includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mental Models facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Innovation, Psychology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mental Models, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mental Models
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 Mental Models
Strengths From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mental Models in From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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
– Mental Models has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 Mental Models in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mental Models 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mental Models in the sector have low bargaining power. From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mental Models to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Mental Models is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Mental Models 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 Yoram (jerry) Wind, Colin Crook 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 recruit top talent
– Mental Models is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mental Models to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mental Models to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Mental Models
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mental Models does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 Mental Models 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mental Models is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Mental Models needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mental Models to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Mental Models supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mental Models vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change HBR case study mentions - Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 Mental Models has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mental Models 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 - From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change, in the dynamic environment Mental Models has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mental Models has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mental Models products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mental Models needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mental Models, firm in the HBR case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change, 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change | 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mental Models 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.
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 Mental Models 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
– Mental Models 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mental Models 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mental Models is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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.
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. Mental Models can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mental Models 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, From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mental Models 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mental Models to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mental Models can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mental Models operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Mental Models in the consumer business. Now Mental Models can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Mental Models 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mental Models 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.
Threats From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change are -
Increasing wage structure of Mental Models
– 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 Mental Models.
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 Mental Models.
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 Mental Models in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mental Models has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mental Models 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.
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 Mental Models business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mental Models 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mental Models is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Mental Models can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Mental Models 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.
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.
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. Mental Models needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mental Models 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change, Mental Models 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 From Mental Models to Transformation: Overcoming Inhibitors to Change 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 Mental Models needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
