Case Study Description of Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige
Traces the growth of Wainwright, a small automotive supply company, focusing on its commitment to quality in 1981 and the evolution of its quality culture. Breakthrough programs that stress "trust and belief" in the workforce and commitment to customers result in Wainwright winning the Malcolm Baldrige Award in 1994.
Swot Analysis of "Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Norman Klein includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wainwright Baldrige facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Customers, Ethics, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wainwright Baldrige, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wainwright Baldrige
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 Wainwright Baldrige
Strengths Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wainwright Baldrige in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Wainwright Baldrige has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wainwright Baldrige to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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)
– Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wainwright Baldrige in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Wainwright Baldrige is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Wainwright Baldrige is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wainwright Baldrige digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Training and development
– Wainwright Baldrige has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wainwright Baldrige has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Learning organization
- Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Baldrige is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wainwright Baldrige in the sector have low bargaining power. Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wainwright Baldrige to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige HBR case study mentions - Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wainwright Baldrige products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wainwright Baldrige needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wainwright Baldrige is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wainwright Baldrige, firm in the HBR case study Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige, is just above the industry average. Wainwright Baldrige 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Baldrige has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige, it seems that the employees of Wainwright Baldrige 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.
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 Wainwright Baldrige supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wainwright Baldrige vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wainwright Baldrige is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Wainwright Baldrige needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wainwright Baldrige to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Opportunities Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige | 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wainwright Baldrige 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, Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wainwright Baldrige can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Developing new processes and practices
– Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Baldrige to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wainwright Baldrige can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wainwright Baldrige operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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. Wainwright Baldrige can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Wainwright Baldrige 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. Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wainwright Baldrige 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, Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wainwright Baldrige has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wainwright Baldrige to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige case study. Wainwright Baldrige can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Wainwright Baldrige in the consumer business. Now Wainwright Baldrige can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wainwright Baldrige can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige are -
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. Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wainwright Baldrige with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wainwright Baldrige is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wainwright Baldrige demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wainwright Baldrige 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.
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. Wainwright Baldrige can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Wainwright Baldrige business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wainwright Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige .
Environmental challenges
– Wainwright Baldrige 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. Wainwright Baldrige can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Wainwright Baldrige.
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. Wainwright Baldrige needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Wainwright Baldrige 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige 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 Wainwright Baldrige needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.