Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?
Many recent articles regarding offshoring have made sweeping, industrywide generalizations about the impact of this process, but have not typically addressed the specific types of jobs that are at risk and why. Develops a framework that integrates several key variables--the (changing) need for proximity, the regulatory environment, firm-level security and intellectual property rights concerns, and the socio-political context within which the offshoring phenomenon is unfolding--that collectively help explain how vulnerable particular jobs are to offshoring. Uses this framework to examine what types of health care and information technology jobs are most and least at risk to offshoring and suggests extending this model to other industries.
Swot Analysis of "Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?" written by Martin Stack, Ricard Downing includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Offshoring Jobs facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Offshoring Jobs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Offshoring Jobs 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Offshoring Jobs
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 Offshoring Jobs
Strengths Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Offshoring Jobs in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Offshoring Jobs to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Offshoring Jobs to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Offshoring Jobs is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Offshoring Jobs has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Offshoring Jobs 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 Offshoring Jobs in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Offshoring Jobs 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Offshoring Jobs in the sector have low bargaining power. Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Offshoring Jobs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Offshoring Jobs in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Offshoring Jobs is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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.
Learning organization
- Offshoring Jobs 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 Offshoring Jobs is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Offshoring Jobs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Offshoring Jobs 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Offshoring Jobs is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Offshoring Jobs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, is just above the industry average. Offshoring Jobs 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, it seems that the employees of Offshoring Jobs 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, 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.
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 Offshoring Jobs supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Offshoring Jobs vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Offshoring Jobs 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Offshoring Jobs is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Offshoring Jobs 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Offshoring Jobs 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 - Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Martin Stack, Ricard Downing suggests that, Offshoring Jobs 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Offshoring Jobs 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Offshoring Jobs 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? | 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Offshoring Jobs 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 Offshoring Jobs to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Offshoring Jobs 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Offshoring Jobs 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Offshoring Jobs 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Offshoring Jobs to increase its market reach. Offshoring Jobs 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Offshoring Jobs 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Offshoring Jobs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Offshoring Jobs 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 Offshoring Jobs 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Offshoring Jobs 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, Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Offshoring Jobs 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.
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 Offshoring Jobs in the consumer business. Now Offshoring Jobs can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Offshoring Jobs 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Offshoring Jobs to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Offshoring Jobs can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Offshoring Jobs with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Offshoring Jobs 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
– Offshoring Jobs 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 Offshoring Jobs in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline 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 Offshoring Jobs business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why?, Offshoring Jobs 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 .
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 Offshoring Jobs.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Offshoring Jobs 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Offshoring Jobs 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? .
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. Offshoring Jobs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Offshoring Jobs
– 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 Offshoring Jobs.
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. Offshoring Jobs 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are at Risk and Why? 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 Offshoring Jobs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.