The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc.
Through its uniquely proactive approach to medical malpractice risk management, the Risk Management Foundation has decreased claims-and premiums-for the Harvard hospitals it insures. The RMF is the captive medico-legal insurer of the Harvard medical institutions and affiliated physicians. Over the last two decades, through a combination of active legal defense and medical error prevention, The RMF has successfully controlled the medico-legal costs of physicians practicing at the Harvard teaching hospitals; consequently, its insured physicians pay notably lower premiums than similar specialists outside the Harvard system. The RMF's success has been due, in large part, to the close working relationships it has cultivated with the insured physicians and hospitals. However, as the hospitals expand their networks into Boston's suburbs, new, less tightly affiliated doctors whose medico-legal risk is higher than those practicing at the hospitals are coming under RMF's umbrella. This case describes The RMF's approach to risk management and the challenges its managers face in accommodating these new physicians.
Authors :: Richard Bohmer, Stephen P. Bradley, Natalie Kindred
Swot Analysis of "The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc." written by Richard Bohmer, Stephen P. Bradley, Natalie Kindred includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Medico Rmf's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Influence, Knowledge management, Product development, Strategy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, 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, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Medico Rmf's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Medico Rmf's 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Medico Rmf's
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 Medico Rmf's
Strengths The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Medico Rmf's in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Medico Rmf's 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Medico Rmf's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Medico Rmf's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Medico Rmf's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Medico Rmf's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Medico Rmf's 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 Medico Rmf's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Medico Rmf's in the sector have low bargaining power. The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Medico Rmf's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Medico Rmf's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Medico Rmf's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Medico Rmf's 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Medico Rmf's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Medico Rmf's 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.
Analytics focus
– Medico Rmf's 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 Richard Bohmer, Stephen P. Bradley, Natalie Kindred can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Weaknesses The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc., is just above the industry average. Medico Rmf's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Medico Rmf's, firm in the HBR case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Medico Rmf's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Medico Rmf's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc., 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Medico Rmf's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Medico Rmf's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Medico Rmf's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Medico Rmf's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 Medico Rmf's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Medico Rmf's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc., it seems that the employees of Medico Rmf's 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.
Opportunities The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. | 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Medico Rmf's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Medico Rmf's to increase its market reach. Medico Rmf's 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. Medico Rmf's 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. Medico Rmf's 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Medico Rmf's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Medico Rmf's 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, The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Medico Rmf's 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.
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. Medico Rmf's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Medico Rmf's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Medico Rmf's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Medico Rmf's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Medico Rmf's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 Medico Rmf's in the consumer business. Now Medico Rmf's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Medico Rmf's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Medico Rmf's 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.
Threats The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Medico Rmf's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Medico Rmf's 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. .
Environmental challenges
– Medico Rmf's 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. Medico Rmf's 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.
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. Medico Rmf's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Medico Rmf's is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Medico Rmf's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Medico Rmf's
– 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 Medico Rmf's.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Medico Rmf's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Medico Rmf's 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.
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. Medico Rmf's 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.
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 Medico Rmf's in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Medico Rmf's 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. 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 Medico Rmf's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
