Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth
AddRec Solutions Pvt. Ltd (AddRec), a recruitment process outsourcing firm, had had a successful year in 2011 and the founder had big plans for 2012. He dreamed of three-fold growth in the next five years without adding any new branches or losing the firm's boutique positioning. Yet he faced more than a few challenges. Competition in the sector was increasing, not only from other vendors but also from the internal human resource departments of some of AddRec's clients. The founder's personal charisma, relationship management abilities and direct involvement had been instrumental in AddRec's growth thus far, but it remained to be seen whether the company, at this point in its evolution, was ready for the next growth phase. Further, his team had a set of capabilities that would need to be aligned with the growth he envisioned. Had the time come for him to distinguish between the strategic and operational roles in the organization? Anamika Sinha is affiliated with Nirma University. Biju Varkkey is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Swot Analysis of "Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth" written by Anamika Sinha, Biju Varkkey includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Addrec Addrec's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, increasing energy prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Addrec Addrec's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Addrec Addrec's
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 Addrec Addrec's
Strengths Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Addrec Addrec's in Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Addrec Addrec's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Addrec Addrec's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Addrec Addrec's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Addrec's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Addrec Addrec's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Addrec Addrec's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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.
High brand equity
– Addrec Addrec's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Addrec Addrec's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Addrec Addrec's in the sector have low bargaining power. Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Addrec Addrec's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Addrec Addrec's 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.
Analytics focus
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Anamika Sinha, Biju Varkkey 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Addrec Addrec's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth, in the dynamic environment Addrec Addrec's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Addrec Addrec's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth, it seems that the employees of Addrec Addrec's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Addrec Addrec's, firm in the HBR case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Addrec Addrec's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Addrec Addrec's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Addrec Addrec's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Addrec Addrec's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Addrec Addrec's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Addrec Addrec's 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. Addrec Addrec's 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Addrec's 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth HBR case study mentions - Addrec Addrec's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Addrec Addrec's 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.
Opportunities Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth | 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth are -
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. Addrec Addrec's 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. Addrec Addrec's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Addrec Addrec's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Addrec Addrec's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Addrec Addrec's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Addrec Addrec's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Addrec Addrec's 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.
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 Addrec Addrec's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Addrec Addrec's 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.
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. Addrec Addrec's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Addrec Addrec's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Addrec Addrec's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth case study. Addrec Addrec's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Addrec Addrec's to increase its market reach. Addrec Addrec's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Addrec Addrec's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Addrec's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth are -
Increasing wage structure of Addrec Addrec's
– 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 Addrec Addrec's.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Addrec Addrec's 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 Addrec Addrec's 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.
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. Addrec Addrec's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Addrec Addrec's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Addrec Addrec's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Addrec Addrec's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Addrec Addrec's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth, Addrec Addrec's 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 .
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 Addrec Addrec's.
Regulatory challenges
– Addrec Addrec's 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.
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. Addrec Addrec's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Solutions: Building Organizational Capabilities for Growth 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 Addrec Addrec's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
