It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design
Current trends in telecommuting and non-territorial office design have changed what it means to work in an on-site office and, subsequently, have increased the number of functions office design is expected to serve. At the same time, innovations in technology and design provide today's managers more choices than ever when outfitting their offices. Offers a framework of leveraged office design that illustrates how managers can make design choices that both capitalize on the newest innovations in office design and serve the emerging needs of corporate workers. The framework specifically explores three functions of workplace design: instrumental functions, such as improving decision making and inter-group collaboration; symbolic functions, such as affirming individual distinctiveness and group status; and aesthetic functions, such as allowing for desired sensory experiences and promoting a sense of place attachment. This framework illustrates how organizations can capitalize on all three functions through their choices in office decor and layout.
Swot Analysis of "It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design" written by Kimberly D Elsbach, Beth A. Bechky includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Functions Office facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Creativity, Leading teams, Operations management, Workspaces and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Functions Office, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Functions Office 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Functions Office
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 Functions Office
Strengths It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Functions Office in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Functions Office in the sector have low bargaining power. It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Functions Office to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Functions Office 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 Functions Office in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Functions Office has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Functions Office 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Functions Office is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Functions Office 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 Functions Office is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Functions Office is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Functions Office in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Functions Office to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Functions Office to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Functions Office has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Functions Office 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.
Analytics focus
– Functions Office 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 Kimberly D Elsbach, Beth A. Bechky 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.
Weaknesses It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Functions Office is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Functions Office needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Functions Office to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kimberly D Elsbach, Beth A. Bechky suggests that, Functions Office is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Functions Office 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Functions Office 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 - It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Functions Office products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Functions Office needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Functions Office 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Functions Office 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Functions Office is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Functions Office supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Functions Office vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design, 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Functions Office is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design | 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design are -
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. Functions Office can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Functions Office 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, It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Functions Office is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Functions Office 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Functions Office has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Functions Office to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design case study. Functions Office can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Functions Office 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 Functions Office to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Functions Office to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Functions Office can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Functions Office can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Functions Office 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Functions Office 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Functions Office to increase its market reach. Functions Office 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Functions Office can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Functions Office operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Functions Office 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Functions Office is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Functions Office 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. Functions Office can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Functions Office has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Functions Office 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Functions Office 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design .
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 Functions Office business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Functions Office 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.
Increasing wage structure of Functions Office
– 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 Functions Office.
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. Functions Office will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Functions Office can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Functions Office 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.
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. Functions Office needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Functions Office.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 It's More Than a Desk: Working Smarter Through Leveraged Office Design 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 Functions Office needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
