Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged)
Recruit Holdings, Japan's largest staffing firm and a leading marketing media company started out in the early 1960s as an advertising company publishing magazines for jobseekers. It scaled up over the following decades to add business verticals such as real estate, bridal, travel, beauty salons and restaurants. Spurred by the internet revolution in the early 2000s, Recruit launched job boards and websites for its diverse media businesses while also moving content online by digitizing many of its popular magazines. In the early 2010s, it transitioned into becoming a service provider with the launch of a number of web-based platforms that allowed SMEs to digitize several key activities, such as point-of-sale registers, reservations and payments. By 2015 Recruit's digital platforms had gained significant popularity and the company was generating enormous amounts of online data on types of transactions, end-user behaviors and SME business characteristics. It also held significant deep offline data that resided within the sales team. However, the platforms and the data was specific to individual businesses. Recruit began to push for a unified backbone platform that would cut across all businesses with vertically stacked integrated solutions. It also established an artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory in Silicon Valley. The mandate was to apply the latest technologies in data analytics, machine learning and AI to achieve breakthrough innovation. At the same time, Recruit harbored global aspirations and embarked on international expansion, mainly through acquisitions. Its goal was to become the world's largest staffing firm by 2020 and the largest media company by 2030. Could Recruit replicate its business model successfully overseas? Could it leverage its people and technological platforms to transform itself into a truly global internet corporation? Could it cannibalize its existing businesses through data-driven innovations to leapfrog into the future?
Authors :: Howard H. Yu, Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche
Swot Analysis of "Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged)" written by Howard H. Yu, Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Recruit Platforms facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, IT, Marketing and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Recruit Platforms, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Recruit Platforms
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 Recruit Platforms
Strengths Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Recruit Platforms in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Recruit Platforms
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Recruit Platforms does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Platforms is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Recruit Platforms 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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.
Training and development
– Recruit Platforms has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Recruit Platforms is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Recruit Platforms is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Recruit Platforms 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 Howard H. Yu, Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche 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
– Recruit Platforms has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Recruit Platforms 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Recruit Platforms in the sector have low bargaining power. Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Recruit Platforms to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Recruit Platforms to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Recruit Platforms to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Recruit Platforms has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Platforms products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Recruit Platforms needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Platforms has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Recruit Platforms 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Recruit Platforms 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Recruit Platforms 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged), is just above the industry average. Recruit Platforms 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.
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 Recruit Platforms supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Recruit Platforms vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Recruit Platforms 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 - Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Recruit Platforms 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Recruit Platforms 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. Recruit Platforms 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.
Opportunities Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) | 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Recruit Platforms is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Recruit Platforms 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, Recruit Platforms 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.
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 Recruit Platforms 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Recruit Platforms can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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.
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. Recruit Platforms can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Recruit Platforms can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Recruit Platforms 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Recruit Platforms 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, Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Recruit Platforms 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.
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 Recruit Platforms in the consumer business. Now Recruit Platforms can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Recruit Platforms has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Recruit Platforms to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) case study. Recruit Platforms can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Recruit Platforms 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. Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Recruit Platforms with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Recruit Platforms 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged), Recruit Platforms 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Recruit Platforms
– 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 Recruit Platforms.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Recruit Platforms 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.
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. Recruit Platforms can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Recruit Platforms 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) .
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 Recruit Platforms.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Recruit Platforms 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.
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. Recruit Platforms 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
– Recruit Platforms 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. Recruit Platforms can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Recruit Platforms in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Japan: Harnessing Data to Create Value (Abridged) 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 Recruit Platforms needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
