Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach
Data breaches are becoming more frequent and more damaging to the bottom line of many businesses. The Target data breach marked the beginning of increased scrutiny of cybersecurity practices. In the past, data breaches were seen as a cost of doing business, but Target's negligence and the scale of the data loss forced businesses and the courts to reevaluate current practices and regulatory frameworks. Businesses must make strategic use of their chief information officers, adopt cybersecurity best practices, and effectively train their employees to respond to growing security threats. They must also shape the cybersecurity narrative to influence regulatory responses to these threats.
Swot Analysis of "Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach" written by Nathan Manworren, Joshua Letwat, Olivia Daily includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cybersecurity Breaches facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Security & privacy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cybersecurity Breaches, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cybersecurity Breaches
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 Cybersecurity Breaches
Strengths Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cybersecurity Breaches in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cybersecurity Breaches in the sector have low bargaining power. Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cybersecurity Breaches to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Nathan Manworren, Joshua Letwat, Olivia Daily 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cybersecurity Breaches digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cybersecurity Breaches
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cybersecurity Breaches does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Cybersecurity Breaches has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Cybersecurity Breaches in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cybersecurity Breaches has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
High brand equity
– Cybersecurity Breaches has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cybersecurity Breaches to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cybersecurity Breaches is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Learning organization
- Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Cybersecurity Breaches is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach, is just above the industry average. Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cybersecurity Breaches 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 - Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cybersecurity Breaches, firm in the HBR case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach, it seems that the employees of Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cybersecurity Breaches has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cybersecurity Breaches 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Cybersecurity Breaches has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cybersecurity Breaches is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Cybersecurity Breaches needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cybersecurity Breaches to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cybersecurity Breaches is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Cybersecurity Breaches supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cybersecurity Breaches vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach | 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Cybersecurity Breaches to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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. Cybersecurity Breaches can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cybersecurity Breaches is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cybersecurity Breaches 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, Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cybersecurity Breaches to increase its market reach. Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
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. Cybersecurity Breaches 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. Cybersecurity Breaches 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
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
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. Cybersecurity Breaches can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cybersecurity Breaches to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cybersecurity Breaches has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cybersecurity Breaches to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach case study. Cybersecurity Breaches can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach are -
Regulatory challenges
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach, Cybersecurity Breaches 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, Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach .
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 Cybersecurity Breaches.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cybersecurity Breaches 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 Cybersecurity Breaches is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cybersecurity Breaches with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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 Cybersecurity Breaches business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cybersecurity Breaches 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. Cybersecurity Breaches can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cybersecurity Breaches 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Why You Should Care about the Target Data Breach 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 Cybersecurity Breaches needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
