Swot Analysis of "Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back" written by Thomas R. Eisenmann includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 061 201 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing people, Marketing, Reorganization, Strategy execution, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 061 201, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 061 201
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 061 201
Strengths Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 061 201 in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– 061 201 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 Thomas R. Eisenmann 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 061 201 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– 061 201 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 061 201 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- 061 201 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 061 201 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– 061 201 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 061 201 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– 061 201 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that 061 201 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 061 201 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 061 201 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back, 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 061 201 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back, in the dynamic environment 061 201 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 061 201 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of 061 201 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 061 201 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 061 201 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. 061 201 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though 061 201 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 - Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 061 201 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 061 201 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, 061 201 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back, it seems that the employees of 061 201 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back, is just above the industry average. 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back | 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 061 201 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 061 201 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for 061 201 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 061 201 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. 061 201 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 061 201 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 061 201 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 061 201 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 061 201 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 061 201 in the consumer business. Now 061 201 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 061 201 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 061 201 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 061 201 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 061 201 can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
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. 061 201 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 061 201 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 061 201 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.
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. 061 201 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back, 061 201 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 .
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 061 201 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 061 201 in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. 061 201 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 061 201 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 061 201 is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 061 201 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.
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. 061 201 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– 061 201 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. 061 201 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of 061 201
– 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 061 201.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 Tele-Communications, Inc. (B): The Empire Strikes Back 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 061 201 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
