Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller
The chief executive of Barry-Wehmiller, a large maker of industrial equipment, has resolved to run the company via "truly human leadership" in which "success is measured by the way we touch the lives of people." With unusual people practices and a distinctive strategy, the company has generated enviable financial results. During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the company went to great lengths to avoid layoffs. But as the case opens in 2013, one division of the company faces a sharp downturn, and the head of the division must decide whether to let employees go. In light of Barry-Wehmiller's people practices and strategy, what should he do?
Swot Analysis of "Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller" written by Dylan Minor, Jan W. Rivkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Barry Wehmiller facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Barry Wehmiller, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Barry Wehmiller
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 Barry Wehmiller
Strengths Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Barry Wehmiller in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Barry Wehmiller to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Barry Wehmiller to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Dylan Minor, 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
– Barry Wehmiller 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
– Barry Wehmiller is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 recruit top talent
– Barry Wehmiller is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Barry Wehmiller digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Barry Wehmiller 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Barry Wehmiller in the sector have low bargaining power. Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Barry Wehmiller to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Barry Wehmiller has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Barry Wehmiller to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Barry Wehmiller is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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.
Weaknesses Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Dylan Minor, Jan W. Rivkin suggests that, Barry Wehmiller 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, in the dynamic environment Barry Wehmiller has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Barry Wehmiller has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Barry Wehmiller is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Barry Wehmiller needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Barry Wehmiller to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Barry Wehmiller vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Barry Wehmiller 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, Barry Wehmiller is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, it seems that the employees of Barry Wehmiller 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Barry Wehmiller 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
Opportunities Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller | 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Barry Wehmiller 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.
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. Barry Wehmiller can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Barry Wehmiller has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Barry Wehmiller to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller case study. Barry Wehmiller can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Barry Wehmiller to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Barry Wehmiller is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Barry Wehmiller 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.
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. Barry Wehmiller 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. Barry Wehmiller 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
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
Threats Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Barry Wehmiller is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Barry Wehmiller 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
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. Barry Wehmiller can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Barry Wehmiller 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.
Increasing wage structure of Barry Wehmiller
– 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 Barry Wehmiller.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Barry Wehmiller has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Barry Wehmiller 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Barry Wehmiller 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.
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 Barry Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Barry Wehmiller demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Barry Wehmiller needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 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 Barry Wehmiller needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.