Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action
The Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case offers a set of interactive group scenarios which are designed to deepen the participants' understanding of blue ocean strategy implementation principles. Using the five scenarios participants work in teams as they learn to apply key concepts of tipping point leadership and fair process. The five settings (health insurance, manufacturing, government, banking and politics) show how blue ocean strategy implementation principles apply at different organizational levels to overcome the four key implementation hurdles (cognitive, resource, motivational and political).
Authors :: W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Katrina Ling
Swot Analysis of "Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action" written by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Katrina Ling includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ocean Blue facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Government, International business, Leadership, Managing organizations, Motivating people, Psychology, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ocean Blue, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ocean Blue 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ocean Blue
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 Ocean Blue
Strengths Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ocean Blue in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ocean Blue 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Ocean Blue is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Ocean Blue 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 W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Katrina Ling 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ocean Blue has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ocean Blue 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ocean Blue 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Ocean Blue
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ocean Blue does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Ocean Blue 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 Ocean Blue is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ocean Blue in the sector have low bargaining power. Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ocean Blue to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ocean Blue to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ocean Blue to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ocean Blue digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ocean Blue 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ocean Blue is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action, 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ocean Blue 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. Ocean Blue 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ocean Blue 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action, it seems that the employees of Ocean Blue 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Katrina Ling suggests that, Ocean Blue 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ocean Blue, firm in the HBR case study Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action, is just above the industry average. Ocean Blue 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ocean Blue 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ocean Blue is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ocean Blue 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Ocean Blue has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action | 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ocean Blue 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, Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Ocean Blue 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ocean Blue is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ocean Blue 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ocean Blue can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ocean Blue operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Ocean Blue in the consumer business. Now Ocean Blue can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Ocean Blue can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ocean Blue can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ocean Blue 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ocean Blue 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ocean Blue 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.
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 Ocean Blue 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ocean Blue 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ocean Blue has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ocean Blue needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Ocean Blue.
Environmental challenges
– Ocean Blue 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. Ocean Blue can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ocean Blue 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ocean Blue 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.
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.
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.
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. Ocean Blue can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Ocean Blue
– 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 Ocean Blue.
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 Ocean Blue business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Ocean Blue in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ocean Blue with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ocean Blue 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Blue Ocean Strategy Implementation Scenario Case: Tipping Point Leadership and Fair Process in Action 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 Ocean Blue needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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