Swot Analysis of "Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP)" written by Tarun Khanna, Stephanie R. Khurana, Robyn C. Davis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Exercise Gmp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Exercise Gmp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Exercise Gmp
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 Exercise Gmp
Strengths Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Exercise Gmp in Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Exercise Gmp 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 Tarun Khanna, Stephanie R. Khurana, Robyn C. Davis 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Exercise Gmp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Exercise Gmp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Exercise Gmp is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Exercise Gmp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Exercise Gmp 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Exercise Gmp in the sector have low bargaining power. Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Exercise Gmp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Exercise Gmp 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Exercise Gmp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Exercise Gmp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Exercise Gmp 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Exercise Gmp 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Exercise Gmp 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) HBR case study mentions - Exercise Gmp 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Exercise Gmp is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Tarun Khanna, Stephanie R. Khurana, Robyn C. Davis suggests that, Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP), 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 Exercise Gmp supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Exercise Gmp vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Exercise Gmp 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 - Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP), it seems that the employees of Exercise Gmp 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Exercise Gmp products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Exercise Gmp needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Exercise Gmp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) | 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Exercise Gmp 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Exercise Gmp 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
– Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Exercise Gmp 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, Exercise Gmp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Exercise Gmp 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.
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. Exercise Gmp 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. Exercise Gmp 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Exercise Gmp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Exercise Gmp to increase its market reach. Exercise Gmp will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Exercise Gmp 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Exercise Gmp 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.
Threats Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) are -
Increasing wage structure of Exercise Gmp
– 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 Exercise Gmp.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Exercise Gmp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Exercise Gmp 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.
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 Exercise Gmp.
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 Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Exercise Gmp 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. Exercise Gmp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Exercise Gmp 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.
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. Exercise Gmp can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Exercise Gmp 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Exercise Gmp 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 Exercise Gmp is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP), Exercise Gmp 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 .
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. Exercise Gmp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Your Strategy--A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP) 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 Exercise Gmp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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