Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
The chief of paediatric orthopaedic surgery was very concerned by the long times that the young patients (and their parents) were experiencing in the orthopaedic clinic. Long wait times tended to aggravate the already pent-up distress and concern that the patients were facing. The chief glanced at recently collected data on service times and wondered how the process could be improved, while continuing balancing budgetary pressures to reduce costs. Moreover, any changes couldn't be done in isolation, as her clinic shared resources with other departments. A monthly executive meeting was fast approaching and expectations were starting to run high that her efforts might be able to spur improvements in other departments too.
Authors :: Robert Klassen, Kellie Leitch, Manpreet Hora
Swot Analysis of "Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario" written by Robert Klassen, Kellie Leitch, Manpreet Hora includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Orthopaedic Paediatric facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Orthopaedic Paediatric, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Orthopaedic Paediatric
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 Orthopaedic Paediatric
Strengths Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Orthopaedic Paediatric in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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.
High brand equity
– Orthopaedic Paediatric has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Orthopaedic Paediatric to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Orthopaedic Paediatric has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Orthopaedic Paediatric is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 Robert Klassen, Kellie Leitch, Manpreet Hora 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Orthopaedic Paediatric has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Orthopaedic Paediatric digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Orthopaedic Paediatric is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Orthopaedic Paediatric is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Weaknesses Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Orthopaedic Paediatric is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, is just above the industry average. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Orthopaedic Paediatric is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario HBR case study mentions - Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Orthopaedic Paediatric has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, in the dynamic environment Orthopaedic Paediatric has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Orthopaedic Paediatric has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Orthopaedic Paediatric, firm in the HBR case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario | 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Orthopaedic Paediatric can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Orthopaedic Paediatric can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Orthopaedic Paediatric has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Orthopaedic Paediatric to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario case study. Orthopaedic Paediatric can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Orthopaedic Paediatric to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Orthopaedic Paediatric 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. Orthopaedic Paediatric can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
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. Orthopaedic Paediatric can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Orthopaedic Paediatric to increase its market reach. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
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. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Threats Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario are -
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
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. Orthopaedic Paediatric 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.
Environmental challenges
– Orthopaedic Paediatric 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. Orthopaedic Paediatric can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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, Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario .
Regulatory challenges
– Orthopaedic Paediatric needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, Orthopaedic Paediatric 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Orthopaedic Paediatric has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Orthopaedic Paediatric needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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. Orthopaedic Paediatric can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Orthopaedic Paediatric.
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 Orthopaedic Paediatric business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario 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 Orthopaedic Paediatric needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
