Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership
The unemployment insurance (UI) system in the United States is in trouble. Millions in tax dollars are going to undeserving claimants due to fraud and, more often, mistakes or poor UI claims management. State administration of UI is suffering from a lack of both financial and human capital. At the same time, too many employers are overpaying unemployment taxes, not only because of fraud and abuse, but also because they have opted out of the system. Additionally, many employers are failing to respond to UI requests for documentation and are choosing not to contest claims, as they believe the system is hopelessly skewed against them.
Swot Analysis of "Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership" written by Robert J. Grossman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ui Unemployment facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Labor, Operations management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ui Unemployment, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ui Unemployment 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ui Unemployment
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 Ui Unemployment
Strengths Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ui Unemployment in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ui Unemployment is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Ui Unemployment is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ui Unemployment is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ui Unemployment in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Ui Unemployment 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 Robert J. Grossman 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ui Unemployment
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ui Unemployment does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ui Unemployment 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Ui Unemployment 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 Ui Unemployment is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ui Unemployment digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ui Unemployment 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ui Unemployment 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.
High brand equity
– Ui Unemployment has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ui Unemployment to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ui Unemployment 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 - Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ui Unemployment 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Ui Unemployment has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ui Unemployment products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ui Unemployment needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ui Unemployment 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. Ui Unemployment 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ui Unemployment is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership, it seems that the employees of Ui Unemployment don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership, is just above the industry average. Ui Unemployment 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert J. Grossman suggests that, Ui Unemployment 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ui Unemployment, firm in the HBR case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership | 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership are -
Manufacturing automation
– Ui Unemployment 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ui Unemployment 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ui Unemployment to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ui Unemployment to increase its market reach. Ui Unemployment 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ui Unemployment in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ui Unemployment 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.
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. Ui Unemployment can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Ui Unemployment can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ui Unemployment has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ui Unemployment to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership case study. Ui Unemployment 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. Ui Unemployment 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. Ui Unemployment 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.
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 Ui Unemployment 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
– Ui Unemployment can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ui Unemployment can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ui Unemployment operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ui Unemployment can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Technology & Operations segment.
Threats Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ui Unemployment has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ui Unemployment 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ui Unemployment is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Ui Unemployment
– 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 Ui Unemployment.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ui Unemployment 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.
Environmental challenges
– Ui Unemployment 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. Ui Unemployment can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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. Ui Unemployment 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. Ui Unemployment can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership, Ui Unemployment 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ui Unemployment 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ui Unemployment 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ui Unemployment with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ui Unemployment 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Unemployment Insurance System at Risk: Snapshot of a Troubled Partnership 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 Ui Unemployment needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
