Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A)
The head of Patient Escort Services for Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) had to determine the best approach to improve efficiency of the hospital's porter system. Porters represented a vital part of various hospital processes, facilitating timely flow of patients, equipment and materials throughout the hospital. Recently, VGH had experienced incidents in which the capacity of the porters was insufficient to meet the demands of the hospital and, despite best-efforts at scheduling, these problems remained. The head of Patient Escort Services spent several weeks collecting data to determine where the problems existed, and wondered if his data could provide answers to some critical questions: How well did the current porter schedule meet daily demand? What is the optimum number of porters? The head of Patient Escort Services had one week to submit his report to VGH's board of directors.
Swot Analysis of "Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A)" written by Fredrik Odegaard, Ryan Metcalf includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Porters Escort facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Operations management, Time management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Porters Escort, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Porters Escort 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Porters Escort
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 Porters Escort
Strengths Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Porters Escort in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Porters Escort is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Porters Escort in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Porters Escort has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Porters Escort 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Porters Escort is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Porters Escort in the sector have low bargaining power. Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Porters Escort to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Porters Escort digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Porters Escort 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Porters Escort 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) 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 Technology & Operations industry
– Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Porters Escort to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Porters Escort to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Porters Escort has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Porters Escort to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Porters Escort is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Porters Escort 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 Porters Escort is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Porters Escort 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.
Weaknesses Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Porters Escort 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Porters Escort is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Porters Escort 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.
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 Porters Escort supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Porters Escort vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Porters Escort products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Porters Escort needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Fredrik Odegaard, Ryan Metcalf suggests that, Porters Escort 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Porters Escort 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A), in the dynamic environment Porters Escort has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Porters Escort 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A), it seems that the employees of Porters Escort don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Porters Escort is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Porters Escort 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Porters Escort 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Porters Escort to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Porters Escort 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. Porters Escort 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Porters Escort can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Porters Escort 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Porters Escort to increase its market reach. Porters Escort 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Porters Escort can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Porters Escort can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) 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.
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 Porters Escort in the consumer business. Now Porters Escort can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Porters Escort can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Porters Escort 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 Porters Escort to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Porters Escort 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Porters Escort can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) are -
Environmental challenges
– Porters Escort 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. Porters Escort can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Porters Escort with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Porters Escort needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A), Porters Escort 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 .
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.
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 Porters Escort business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Porters Escort 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Porters Escort has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Porters Escort needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
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 Porters Escort in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Porters Escort 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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (A) .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Porters Escort 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Porters Escort 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Vancouver General Hospital: Improving Porter Efficiency (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 Porters Escort needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.