Case Study Description of Max-Able Medical Clinic (A)
The issue concerns introduction of a new technology in health care delivery. The case requires the student to analyze the process for delivering health care via a new technology, the multiphasic testing facility. Analysis of patient flow, capacity, choice of tests, and demand is involved.
Swot Analysis of "Max-Able Medical Clinic (A)" written by William J. Abernathy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Multiphasic Max facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Strategic planning, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization,
technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Max-Able Medical Clinic (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Multiphasic Max, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Multiphasic Max 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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Multiphasic Max
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 Multiphasic Max
Strengths Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Multiphasic Max in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Multiphasic Max is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Multiphasic Max has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Multiphasic Max digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Multiphasic Max 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.
Organizational Resilience of Multiphasic Max
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Multiphasic Max does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Multiphasic Max 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Multiphasic Max is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Multiphasic Max has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Multiphasic Max 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Multiphasic Max 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 Multiphasic Max in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Multiphasic Max in the sector have low bargaining power. Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Multiphasic Max to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Multiphasic Max 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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Multiphasic Max 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 Multiphasic Max is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Multiphasic Max, firm in the HBR case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Multiphasic Max is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Multiphasic Max 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Multiphasic Max 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Multiphasic Max 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 - Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) HBR case study mentions - Multiphasic Max takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Need for greater diversity
– Multiphasic Max 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Multiphasic Max 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Multiphasic Max products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Multiphasic Max needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Multiphasic Max 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.
Opportunities Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Multiphasic Max 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, Multiphasic Max is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Max-Able Medical Clinic (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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Multiphasic Max can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Multiphasic Max operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Multiphasic Max 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 Multiphasic Max to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Multiphasic Max to increase its market reach. Multiphasic Max 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Multiphasic Max 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Multiphasic Max 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, Max-Able Medical Clinic (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.
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 Multiphasic Max 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
– Multiphasic Max 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Multiphasic Max 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Multiphasic Max can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Max-Able Medical Clinic (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.
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. Multiphasic Max can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Multiphasic Max has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Multiphasic Max to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) case study. Multiphasic Max can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) are -
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 Multiphasic Max business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Multiphasic Max 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. Multiphasic Max needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Multiphasic Max 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.
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. Multiphasic Max can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Max-Able Medical Clinic (A), Multiphasic Max 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Multiphasic Max
– 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 Multiphasic Max.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Multiphasic Max 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.
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, Multiphasic Max 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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (A) .
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.
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 Multiphasic Max in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Multiphasic Max 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Max-Able Medical Clinic (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 Multiphasic Max needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
