Swot Analysis of "Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand" written by Nancy Sousa, Richard Demartino, Stanley Widrick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kodak's Imaging facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, International business, Marketing, Organizational structure, Pricing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kodak's Imaging, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kodak's Imaging
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 Kodak's Imaging
Strengths Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kodak's Imaging in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kodak's Imaging to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kodak's Imaging to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kodak's Imaging digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kodak's Imaging 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.
Learning organization
- Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Kodak's Imaging is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kodak's Imaging is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kodak's Imaging has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kodak's Imaging 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kodak's Imaging in the sector have low bargaining power. Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kodak's Imaging to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kodak's Imaging in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nancy Sousa, Richard Demartino, Stanley Widrick suggests that, Kodak's Imaging 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Imaging has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kodak's Imaging 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. Kodak's Imaging 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
Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand, it seems that the employees of Kodak's Imaging 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kodak's Imaging is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Kodak's Imaging needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kodak's Imaging to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kodak's Imaging is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Imaging 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kodak's Imaging is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kodak's Imaging 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand, is just above the industry average. Kodak's Imaging 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.
Opportunities Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand | 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kodak's Imaging to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kodak's Imaging 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Kodak's Imaging 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kodak's Imaging to increase its market reach. Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging 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.
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. Kodak's Imaging 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. Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging 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.
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 Kodak's Imaging in the consumer business. Now Kodak's Imaging can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kodak's Imaging 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, Kodak's Imaging 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kodak's Imaging can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
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. Kodak's Imaging can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand are -
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Kodak's Imaging 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.
Environmental challenges
– Kodak's Imaging 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. Kodak's Imaging can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kodak's Imaging 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kodak's Imaging 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 Kodak's Imaging in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand, Kodak's Imaging 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Kodak's Imaging
– 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 Kodak's Imaging.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kodak's Imaging 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kodak's Imaging 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kodak's Imaging 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.
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 Kodak's Imaging business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Kodak's Imaging can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia (B): The Crisis in Thailand 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 Kodak's Imaging needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
