Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership
This case looks at the adoption by the city of Coventry, UK, of a 1998 law meant to enhance collaboration among public agencies to reduce crime rates. Coventry created a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and hired staff to coordinate activities among the police, local government, public housing, nonprofits, and the business community (plus later, fire and the national health service). The law gave communities little guidance on what anti-crime activities to pursue, or how to coordinate them, yet it proposed to hold partnerships responsible for crime rates. This case traces Coventry's efforts to find mechanisms for implementation, as well as the spillover effects of the law onto other areas of potential cooperation among government bodies. Students will gain an understanding of the challenges at the local level of implementing well-intentioned, but poorly specified, national legal mandates. They will see how an individual leader can make a difference in setting common goals and holding agencies accountability. They will also learn about some innovative collaborative approaches to crime prevention. This case can be used in courses about public management, about leadership, or about policing. HKS Case Number 1831.0
Swot Analysis of "Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership" written by Steve Kelman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Crime Coventry's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Innovation, Leadership, Project management, Regulation, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Crime Coventry's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Crime Coventry's 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Crime Coventry's
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 Crime Coventry's
Strengths Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Crime Coventry's in Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Crime Coventry's 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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
– Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Crime Coventry's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Crime Coventry's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Crime Coventry's 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 Crime Coventry's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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
– Crime Coventry's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Crime Coventry's 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Crime Coventry's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Crime Coventry's 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 Steve Kelman 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Crime Coventry's 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
– Crime Coventry's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Crime Coventry's in the sector have low bargaining power. Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Crime Coventry's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Crime Coventry's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Crime Coventry's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Crime Coventry's 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.
Weaknesses Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Crime Coventry's 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 - Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership, it seems that the employees of Crime Coventry's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Crime Coventry's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Crime Coventry's 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Steve Kelman suggests that, Crime Coventry's 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership, 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Crime Coventry's 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Crime Coventry's 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Crime Coventry's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Crime Coventry's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Crime Coventry's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Crime Coventry's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Crime Coventry's 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.
Opportunities Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership | 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Crime Coventry's 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 Crime Coventry's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Crime Coventry's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership case study. Crime Coventry's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Crime Coventry's 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.
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 Crime Coventry's in the consumer business. Now Crime Coventry's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Crime Coventry's 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. Crime Coventry's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Crime Coventry's 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Crime Coventry's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Crime Coventry's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Crime Coventry's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Crime Coventry's 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, Crime Coventry's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Crime Coventry's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Crime Coventry's 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, Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Crime Coventry's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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. Crime Coventry's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership are -
Environmental challenges
– Crime Coventry's 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. Crime Coventry's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Crime Coventry's.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Crime Coventry's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Crime Coventry's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership, Crime Coventry's 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 .
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Crime Coventry's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Crime Coventry's 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Crime Coventry's in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Crime Coventry's in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Crime Coventry's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Crime Coventry's 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.
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. Crime Coventry's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Crime Coventry's 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Going it Together: Coventry's Community Safety Partnership 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 Crime Coventry's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.