The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers
Discusses the linkages among seven different activities that take place in organizations, and that must be coordinated if an organization is to be successful. The activities comprise strategy formulation, authority and influence, conflict management, culture management, customer management, motivation, and management control.
Swot Analysis of "The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers" written by David W. Young includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Activities Comprise facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Organizational structure, Performance measurement, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Activities Comprise, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Activities Comprise 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Activities Comprise
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 Activities Comprise
Strengths The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Activities Comprise in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Activities Comprise is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Activities Comprise 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Activities Comprise 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 David W. Young 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 Activities Comprise in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Activities Comprise
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Activities Comprise does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Activities Comprise 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 Activities Comprise is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Activities Comprise is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Activities Comprise 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Activities Comprise is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Activities Comprise has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Activities Comprise in the sector have low bargaining power. The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Activities Comprise to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 Activities Comprise has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Activities Comprise has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers, is just above the industry average. Activities Comprise 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 Activities Comprise 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers, it seems that the employees of Activities Comprise 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Activities Comprise is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 Activities Comprise 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers, 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
– Activities Comprise 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.
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 Activities Comprise supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Activities Comprise vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Activities Comprise products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Activities Comprise needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers | 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Activities Comprise has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Activities Comprise to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers case study. Activities Comprise can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Activities Comprise 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Activities Comprise is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Activities Comprise can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Activities Comprise operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Activities Comprise can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Activities Comprise can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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.
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. Activities Comprise 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. Activities Comprise 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.
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 Activities Comprise 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Activities Comprise 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Activities Comprise 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 Activities Comprise to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Activities Comprise 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Activities Comprise to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Activities Comprise to increase its market reach. Activities Comprise 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Activities Comprise 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.
Threats The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Activities Comprise is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Activities Comprise
– 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 Activities Comprise.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Activities Comprise has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Activities Comprise 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.
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. Activities Comprise 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.
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. Activities Comprise needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Activities Comprise in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Activities Comprise 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. Activities Comprise can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Activities Comprise 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Activities Comprise 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Activities Comprise in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Activities Comprise business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers, Activities Comprise 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 The Seven Leadership Levers Used by Successful Managers 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 Activities Comprise needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
