Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students
The third of four module notes for students who are taking an advanced course on competitive strategy. Examines how combinations of external threats and internal barriers to change lead to strategic failure.
Swot Analysis of "Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students" written by Jan W. Rivkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Module Advanced facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Module Advanced, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Module Advanced 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Module Advanced
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 Module Advanced
Strengths Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Module Advanced in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Module Advanced is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Module Advanced
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Module Advanced does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Module Advanced has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Module Advanced to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Module Advanced has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Module Advanced has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Module Advanced 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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
– Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Module Advanced to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Module Advanced to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Module Advanced is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Module Advanced is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Module Advanced 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Module Advanced 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Module Advanced in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Module Advanced is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Module Advanced 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Module Advanced 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. Module Advanced 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Module Advanced 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, it seems that the employees of Module Advanced 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, 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
Module Advanced 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, in the dynamic environment Module Advanced has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Module Advanced needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, is just above the industry average. Module Advanced needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Module Advanced 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Module Advanced 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, Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Module Advanced has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Module Advanced to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study. Module Advanced can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Module Advanced 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Module Advanced to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Module Advanced in the consumer business. Now Module Advanced can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Module Advanced 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Module Advanced 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Module Advanced can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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.
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. Module Advanced 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. Module Advanced 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Module Advanced 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Module Advanced can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Module Advanced operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Module Advanced 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.
Threats Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Module Advanced has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Module Advanced 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Module Advanced 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. Module Advanced needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Module Advanced 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. Module Advanced can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing wage structure of Module Advanced
– 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 Module Advanced.
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 Module Advanced.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Module Advanced is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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 Module Advanced in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Module Advanced will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Regulatory challenges
– Module Advanced 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Module Advanced 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.