Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
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 - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, 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 -
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Module Advanced is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Module Advanced has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Module Advanced 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Module Advanced digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Module Advanced 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.
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.
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.
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.
Analytics focus
– Module Advanced 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 Jan W. Rivkin 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jan W. Rivkin suggests that, Module Advanced 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.
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.
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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Module Advanced 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.
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.
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 Module Advanced supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Module Advanced vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Module Advanced 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Module Advanced is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Module Advanced is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Module Advanced needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Module Advanced to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 -
Loyalty marketing
– Module Advanced 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.
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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Module Advanced is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Module Advanced 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.
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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Module Advanced can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Module Advanced can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Module Advanced 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Module Advanced 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.
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.
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 -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Module Advanced with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Module Advanced 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 Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students .
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Why Do Strategies Fail? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, Module Advanced 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 .
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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Module Advanced 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.
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 Module Advanced business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Module Advanced 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.
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.
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.
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. Module Advanced can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
