Strategy and the Strategist SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Strategy and the Strategist
This short case presents a series of brief accounts, observations, and quotations that challenge students to think about the role of the CEO - and of the CEO's (possibly strong) beliefs and convictions - in strategy. It focuses in particular on three issues and their practical implications: 1) when and why it is important that the strategy publicly reflects the (possibly strong) beliefs of the CEO and management; 2) whether and when you want the strategist (CEO or management) to have strong beliefs; and 3) why people tend to develop strategies in line with their background and past successes, and what the implications are.
Swot Analysis of "Strategy and the Strategist" written by Eric Van Den Steen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Beliefs Strategist facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Strategy and the Strategist case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Strategy and the Strategist casestudy better are - – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Strategy and the Strategist
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Strategy and the Strategist case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Beliefs Strategist, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Beliefs Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Strategy and the Strategist case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Beliefs Strategist
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 Beliefs Strategist
Strengths Strategy and the Strategist | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Beliefs Strategist in Strategy and the Strategist Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Beliefs Strategist digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Beliefs Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Beliefs Strategist does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Beliefs Strategist 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Strategy and the Strategist 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.
Analytics focus
– Beliefs Strategist 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 Eric Van Den Steen 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.
Training and development
– Beliefs Strategist has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Strategy and the Strategist 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.
High brand equity
– Beliefs Strategist has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Beliefs Strategist to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Beliefs Strategist is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Strategy and the Strategist are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Strategy and the Strategist firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Beliefs Strategist to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Beliefs Strategist to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Beliefs Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Beliefs Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Strategy and the Strategist Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Beliefs Strategist in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Strategy and the Strategist | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Strategy and the Strategist are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Beliefs Strategist, firm in the HBR case study Strategy and the Strategist needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Beliefs Strategist 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Strategy and the Strategist HBR case study mentions - Beliefs Strategist takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Strategy and the Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Beliefs Strategist supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Strategy and the Strategist, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Beliefs Strategist vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Strategy and the Strategist, it seems that the employees of Beliefs Strategist 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Beliefs Strategist 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. Beliefs Strategist 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Strategy and the Strategist, in the dynamic environment Beliefs Strategist has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Beliefs Strategist has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Beliefs Strategist 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Beliefs Strategist products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Beliefs Strategist needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Strategy and the Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Beliefs Strategist is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Strategy and the Strategist | 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 Strategy and the Strategist are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Beliefs Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Beliefs Strategist 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.
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. Beliefs Strategist can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Beliefs Strategist 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Beliefs Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Beliefs Strategist to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Strategy and the Strategist case study. Beliefs Strategist can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Beliefs Strategist in the consumer business. Now Beliefs Strategist can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Beliefs Strategist 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.
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. Beliefs Strategist can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Beliefs Strategist to increase its market reach. Beliefs Strategist 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Beliefs Strategist 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Beliefs Strategist 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Beliefs Strategist can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Strategy and the Strategist 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.
Threats Strategy and the Strategist External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Strategy and the Strategist are -
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 Beliefs Strategist.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Beliefs Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Beliefs Strategist 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.
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. Beliefs Strategist 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Beliefs Strategist has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Beliefs Strategist needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Beliefs Strategist business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Beliefs Strategist 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.
Increasing wage structure of Beliefs Strategist
– 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 Beliefs Strategist.
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 Beliefs Strategist in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Strategy and the Strategist, Beliefs Strategist 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Beliefs Strategist 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Beliefs Strategist is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Strategy and the Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist 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 Strategy and the Strategist 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 Beliefs Strategist needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
