A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise
Students are required to develop a persuasion strategy for Universita' Bocconi, which is in the midst of a profound strategic redirection. Such redirection is resisted by a large number of vocal faculty members. The focus of the exercise is on framing and categorization.
Swot Analysis of "A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise" written by Giovanni Gavetti includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Redirection Universita facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Redirection Universita, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Redirection Universita 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Redirection Universita
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 Redirection Universita
Strengths A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Redirection Universita in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Redirection Universita to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Redirection Universita to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Redirection Universita is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Redirection Universita 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Redirection Universita 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 Giovanni Gavetti 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Redirection Universita 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Redirection Universita 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Redirection Universita in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Redirection Universita in the sector have low bargaining power. A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Redirection Universita to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Redirection Universita is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Redirection Universita is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Redirection Universita 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 Redirection Universita in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Redirection Universita 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 - A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Redirection Universita 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 Redirection Universita has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 Redirection Universita 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Redirection Universita 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise HBR case study mentions - Redirection Universita 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Giovanni Gavetti suggests that, Redirection Universita 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Redirection Universita 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise, it seems that the employees of Redirection Universita 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 Redirection Universita products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Redirection Universita 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Redirection Universita is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise | 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Redirection Universita 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Redirection Universita 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
– Redirection Universita can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Redirection Universita 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Redirection Universita to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Redirection Universita can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Redirection Universita in the consumer business. Now Redirection Universita can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Redirection Universita to increase its market reach. Redirection Universita 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 Redirection Universita 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Redirection Universita 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Redirection Universita is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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. Redirection Universita 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. Redirection Universita 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Redirection Universita 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, A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Redirection Universita 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.
Threats A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 Redirection Universita.
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. Redirection Universita 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.
Environmental challenges
– Redirection Universita 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. Redirection Universita can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Redirection Universita has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Redirection Universita 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Redirection Universita 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.
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. Redirection Universita needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Redirection Universita with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Redirection Universita in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Redirection Universita
– 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 Redirection Universita.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Redirection Universita 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise, Redirection Universita 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 .
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. Redirection Universita can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 A Persuasion Strategy for Universita' Bocconi: An Exercise 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 Redirection Universita needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.