Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes

Pearson Plc is an education company that operates worldwide and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Its six primary business units are North American Education, International Education, Professional, the Financial Times, Interactive Data, and Penguin Publishing. The vice-president of product management within the Digital Learning division of the North American Education unit based in Chandler, Arizona begins to transform the product development processes to better meet the needs of his customers in the education market, specifically in transitioning from using an off-shored waterfall software development model to an on-shore Agile model. When the vice-president first joined Pearson a year earlier, the Digital Learning unit had spent significant resources developing a major upgrade to one of its educational software products. The first version of this new product was challenged by the disconnect between what the software development group was delivering and what the vice-president's customers desired. He is faced with a decision to continue focusing on the specific methodology they had implemented (Scrum) or move to a new one (Kanban). Additionally, he has to consider expanding his focus to help drive Agile methodologies both with other groups in his business unit and outside his business unit. These decisions must be made at a potentially critical time for his products as his organization deals with the growing pains associated with the shift to Agile.

Authors :: T.S. Raghu, Collin Sellman

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: IT, Marketing, Operations management, Product development, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes" written by T.S. Raghu, Collin Sellman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Education Agile facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Marketing, Operations management, Product development and Technology & Operations.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Education Agile, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Education Agile 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Education Agile
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 Education Agile

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Strengths Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Education Agile in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes Harvard Business Review case study are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Education Agile in the sector have low bargaining power. Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Education Agile to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Education Agile is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Learning organization

- Education Agile 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 Education Agile is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Education Agile to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Education Agile to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

High brand equity

– Education Agile has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Education Agile to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Education Agile 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.

Organizational Resilience of Education Agile

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Education Agile does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Education Agile is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Education Agile is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Education Agile digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Education Agile 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Education Agile 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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.

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Weaknesses Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes are -

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes, 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Education Agile, firm in the HBR case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Education Agile supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Education Agile vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Education Agile 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Education Agile 's lucrative customers.

Lack of clear differentiation of Education Agile products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Education Agile needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Education Agile is planning to shift buying processes online.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Education Agile 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 - Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes, in the dynamic environment Education Agile has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Education Agile has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Need for greater diversity

– Education Agile 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Education Agile has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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Opportunities Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes | 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes are -

Loyalty marketing

– Education Agile 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Education Agile can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Education Agile operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

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. Education Agile can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Education Agile has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Education Agile to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes case study. Education Agile can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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. Education Agile can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Education Agile 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Education Agile 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Education Agile is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Education Agile 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Education Agile 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 Education Agile to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Education Agile 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, Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Education Agile 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Education Agile to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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 Education Agile in the consumer business. Now Education Agile can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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Threats Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Education Agile 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes .

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Education Agile is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Education Agile.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Education Agile 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes, Education Agile 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 .

Environmental challenges

– Education Agile 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. Education Agile can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Education Agile 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.

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 Education Agile business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Education Agile needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Education Agile 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.

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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Education Agile has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Education Agile 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.

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 Education Agile in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Pearson's Successmaker: Putting the Customer First in Transforming Product Development Processes 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 Education Agile needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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