We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA
Many organizations underestimate the challenges associated with the use of a knowledge management system (KMS). To better understand the nature of these challenges, this case describes the knowledge management efforts of a state governmental agency in the United States: Technology Project Authority (TPA). The case focuses on the three main phases of the TPA's knowledge management strategy, between 2004 and 2008. Under pressure to improve its business processes to sustain its expertise in IT project management, TPA implemented two KMS during the period covered in the case. In the end, the second KMS was still not used as intended. Giving our teaching objectives, students are asked to determine the characteristics of an organizational environment conducive to knowledge management activities, to evaluate the strategic alignment of the KMS, and to suggest a tailored method of analysis and reengineering for an integrated system such as the KMS needed at TPA.
Swot Analysis of "We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA" written by Alina Dulipovici, Ann-Frances Cameron includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kms Tpa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Project management, Strategy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kms Tpa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kms Tpa 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kms Tpa
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 Kms Tpa
Strengths We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kms Tpa in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kms Tpa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kms Tpa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kms Tpa is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kms Tpa in the sector have low bargaining power. We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kms Tpa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kms Tpa 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Kms Tpa is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Kms Tpa in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kms Tpa 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kms Tpa is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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.
Learning organization
- Kms Tpa 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 Kms Tpa is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kms Tpa in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Kms Tpa 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 Alina Dulipovici, Ann-Frances Cameron 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.
High brand equity
– Kms Tpa has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kms Tpa to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kms Tpa is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Kms Tpa needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kms Tpa to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Alina Dulipovici, Ann-Frances Cameron suggests that, Kms Tpa 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 Kms Tpa 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kms Tpa is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kms Tpa 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kms Tpa 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kms Tpa 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. Kms Tpa 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 Kms Tpa has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kms Tpa 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kms Tpa, firm in the HBR case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA | 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA are -
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 Kms Tpa in the consumer business. Now Kms Tpa can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Kms Tpa can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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.
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. Kms Tpa 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. Kms Tpa 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 Kms Tpa 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kms Tpa 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 Kms Tpa to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kms Tpa 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kms Tpa 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kms Tpa to increase its market reach. Kms Tpa 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kms Tpa 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kms Tpa to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kms Tpa 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, We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kms Tpa 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Kms Tpa 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kms Tpa 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kms Tpa 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 Kms Tpa
– 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 Kms Tpa.
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 Kms Tpa in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kms Tpa 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kms Tpa 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.
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. Kms Tpa 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA, Kms Tpa 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, Kms Tpa 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA .
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 Kms Tpa business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kms Tpa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kms Tpa 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kms Tpa with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Kms Tpa.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 We Gave Them a Tool, but Hardly Anyone's Using It! Untangling the Knowledge Management Dilemma at TPA 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 Kms Tpa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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