Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic
This case study teaches students about lean process improvement projects at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's leading hospital systems. The majority of the case focuses on one lean improvement project and leads the student step-by-step through the Kaizen events, and the tools, approaches and outcomes of the project. The case study ends with two short mini-cases on additional process improvement projects at the Cleveland Clinic. The detailed and concise case is ideal for a discussion about lean process improvement in the services industry.
Swot Analysis of "Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic" written by Izak Duenyas includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lean Cleveland facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lean Cleveland, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lean Cleveland
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 Lean Cleveland
Strengths Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lean Cleveland in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Cleveland is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lean Cleveland is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lean Cleveland has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lean Cleveland 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
– Lean Cleveland is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Lean Cleveland is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Lean Cleveland
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lean Cleveland does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lean Cleveland 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.
Training and development
– Lean Cleveland has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Cleveland digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lean Cleveland 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lean Cleveland in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Cleveland 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic HBR case study mentions - Lean Cleveland 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lean Cleveland products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lean Cleveland needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lean Cleveland is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Lean Cleveland needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lean Cleveland to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lean Cleveland 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lean Cleveland 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Cleveland has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lean Cleveland 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lean Cleveland 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lean Cleveland has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Lean Cleveland even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic, is just above the industry average. Lean Cleveland 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.
Opportunities Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic | 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic are -
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. Lean Cleveland can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Lean Cleveland in the consumer business. Now Lean Cleveland can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lean Cleveland can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Technology & Operations segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lean Cleveland can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Lean Cleveland 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lean Cleveland 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lean Cleveland to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lean Cleveland 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, Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lean Cleveland has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lean Cleveland to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic case study. Lean Cleveland can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Lean Cleveland 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lean Cleveland 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lean Cleveland can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lean Cleveland operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Lean Cleveland can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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.
Threats Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lean Cleveland 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lean Cleveland with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Lean Cleveland.
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. Lean Cleveland 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic, Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Cleveland 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, Lean Cleveland 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic .
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. Lean Cleveland needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Lean Cleveland 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. Lean Cleveland can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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. Lean Cleveland can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lean Cleveland is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lean Cleveland 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic 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 Lean Cleveland needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
