Case Study Description of Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity
In January 2013, Mike Johnson, CEO of Headwaters Software, was weighing the opportunity to diversify into a new but related market. Despite being a small company, Fisdap, as everyone called it, was the leading provider of software solutions and content to students and educators in the field of emergency medical services (EMS). Since its inception, Fisdap had played a key role in facilitating new ways to track and manage clinical internships of EMS students. Now, it appeared that educational programs for other healthcare occupations were likely to adopt methods similar to those now used in EMS. Johnson had recently returned from a visit to a community college using Fisdap's EMS software, which had requested Fisdap to consider developing solutions for their nursing program as well. Nursing education was a large market, offering substantial growth potential for Fisdap. However, entering the market involved a number of risks, and meant that the company would move away from its existing strategy and direction. Johnson was concerned about whether the company could manage growth while maintaining its company culture and conservative approach to financing. Furthermore, the size of the nursing education market might entice larger competitors than Fisdap had encountered to date. Johnson felt that the nursing education software tools market might develop rapidly, so if he was going to enter, he had better do it now.
Swot Analysis of "Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity" written by Derek Lehmberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fisdap Nursing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Risk management and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fisdap Nursing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fisdap Nursing 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fisdap Nursing
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 Fisdap Nursing
Strengths Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fisdap Nursing in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Fisdap Nursing 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 Fisdap Nursing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Fisdap Nursing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Fisdap Nursing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fisdap Nursing 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Fisdap Nursing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Fisdap Nursing 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 Fisdap Nursing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Fisdap Nursing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fisdap Nursing has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fisdap Nursing in the sector have low bargaining power. Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fisdap Nursing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Fisdap Nursing 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 Derek Lehmberg 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fisdap Nursing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fisdap Nursing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fisdap Nursing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fisdap Nursing 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap Nursing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fisdap Nursing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Fisdap Nursing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fisdap Nursing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Derek Lehmberg suggests that, Fisdap Nursing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Fisdap Nursing needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fisdap Nursing 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap Nursing 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fisdap Nursing 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 - Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Fisdap Nursing, firm in the HBR case study Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Fisdap Nursing 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity, in the dynamic environment Fisdap Nursing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fisdap Nursing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity, 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.
Opportunities Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity | 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Fisdap Nursing 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Fisdap Nursing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fisdap Nursing can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fisdap Nursing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fisdap Nursing to increase its market reach. Fisdap Nursing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Fisdap Nursing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fisdap Nursing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fisdap Nursing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fisdap Nursing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity case study. Fisdap Nursing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Fisdap Nursing in the consumer business. Now Fisdap Nursing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fisdap Nursing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fisdap Nursing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fisdap Nursing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fisdap Nursing 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fisdap Nursing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Fisdap Nursing 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.
Threats Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fisdap Nursing is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Fisdap Nursing 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.
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 Fisdap Nursing.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fisdap Nursing 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.
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. Fisdap Nursing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Fisdap Nursing
– 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 Fisdap Nursing.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fisdap Nursing 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 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. Fisdap Nursing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fisdap Nursing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Fisdap Nursing high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fisdap Nursing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fisdap Nursing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap: The Nursing Opportunity 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 Fisdap Nursing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
