Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network
The first in a five-part series about Bell Atlantic Corp.'s technology-in-education partnership with the Union City, New Jersey school system. Provides an overview of the telecommunications industry in general and Bell Atlantic in particular, with special attention to technology trends and developments, the changing marketplace, regulatory issues, heightened merger activity, and strategy and leadership within Bell Atlantic. Video 9-399-501 is a short version of the case series and may be used in conjunction with it.
Swot Analysis of "Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ellen Pruyne includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bell Atlantic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Leadership, Leadership development, Mergers & acquisitions, Social enterprise, Strategic planning, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bell Atlantic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bell Atlantic 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bell Atlantic
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 Bell Atlantic
Strengths Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bell Atlantic in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bell Atlantic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bell Atlantic 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.
Training and development
– Bell Atlantic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bell Atlantic is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Bell Atlantic 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 Bell Atlantic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bell Atlantic 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.
Analytics focus
– Bell Atlantic 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ellen Pruyne 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bell Atlantic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bell Atlantic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bell Atlantic 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Bell Atlantic is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bell Atlantic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bell Atlantic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ellen Pruyne suggests that, Bell Atlantic 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network, is just above the industry average. Bell Atlantic 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.
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 Bell Atlantic supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bell Atlantic vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bell Atlantic 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 - Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network, in the dynamic environment Bell Atlantic has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bell Atlantic has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bell Atlantic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bell Atlantic 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bell Atlantic 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.
Opportunities Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network | 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bell Atlantic 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bell Atlantic to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bell Atlantic in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bell Atlantic 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bell Atlantic 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bell Atlantic can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bell Atlantic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bell Atlantic 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.
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. Bell Atlantic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Bell Atlantic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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.
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. Bell Atlantic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Bell Atlantic 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. Bell Atlantic 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bell Atlantic 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bell Atlantic 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.
Threats Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bell Atlantic is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Bell Atlantic 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. Bell Atlantic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bell Atlantic 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.
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. Bell Atlantic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Bell Atlantic 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, Bell Atlantic 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network .
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 Bell Atlantic.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bell Atlantic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bell Atlantic 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.
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 Bell Atlantic in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bell Atlantic 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network, Bell Atlantic 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bell Atlantic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (A): The Intelligent Network 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 Bell Atlantic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.