Case Study Description of Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A)
In May 2005, JP Rangaswami, the chief information officer at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), wonders how to extend the bank's use of blogs. Corporations are now increasingly using these tools to diffuse news, opinions, and knowledge and improve collaboration. At DrKW, there are already over 300 internal blogs and Rangaswami now wants to encourage their internal spread. He has to make a compelling case for using blogs as well as make them easy to use. In addition, Rangaswami wants the bank to allow external blogs that others can view on the Internet. However, given the strict disclosure regulations that govern the bank's operations, Rangaswami wonders whether there are any safeguards that would help convince the bank's executive staff to allow external blogs.
Swot Analysis of "Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A)" written by Andrew McAfee, Anders Sjoman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Blogs Rangaswami facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Knowledge management, Networking, Regulation, Security & privacy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Blogs Rangaswami, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Blogs Rangaswami
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Blogs Rangaswami
Strengths Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Blogs Rangaswami in Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Blogs Rangaswami has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs Rangaswami in the sector have low bargaining power. Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Blogs Rangaswami to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Blogs Rangaswami is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Blogs Rangaswami in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Blogs Rangaswami
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Blogs Rangaswami does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Blogs Rangaswami 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 Andrew McAfee, Anders Sjoman 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Blogs Rangaswami digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Blogs Rangaswami to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Blogs Rangaswami to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Blogs Rangaswami has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Blogs Rangaswami to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Blogs Rangaswami, firm in the HBR case study Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Blogs Rangaswami supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Blogs Rangaswami vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Blogs Rangaswami 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. Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Blogs Rangaswami 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 - Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A), it seems that the employees of Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A), is just above the industry average. Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Blogs Rangaswami products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Blogs Rangaswami needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Blogs Rangaswami 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs Rangaswami 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) | 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Blogs Rangaswami has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Blogs Rangaswami to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) case study. Blogs Rangaswami can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Blogs Rangaswami can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Blogs Rangaswami is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs Rangaswami to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Blogs Rangaswami can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Blogs Rangaswami operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Blogs Rangaswami 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. Blogs Rangaswami 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs Rangaswami 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Blogs Rangaswami can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Blogs Rangaswami 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, Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A), Blogs Rangaswami may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Blogs Rangaswami in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Blogs Rangaswami 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. Blogs Rangaswami can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Blogs Rangaswami in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Blogs Rangaswami with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Blogs Rangaswami business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Blogs Rangaswami 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) .
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.
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. Blogs Rangaswami will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing wage structure of Blogs Rangaswami
– 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 Blogs Rangaswami.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Blogs Rangaswami 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Blogs Rangaswami is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein: (A) 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 Blogs Rangaswami needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
