Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version
Hewlett-Packard decided that, to grow more rapidly, it needed to design a revolutionary disk drive product that would create an entirely new market or application for magnetic recording technology. The company followed most of the "rules" good managers follow in such situations: heavyweight project team, lots of senior management support, etc. But it still failed. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Swot Analysis of "Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version" written by Clayton M. Christensen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Packard Hewlett facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Packard Hewlett, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Packard Hewlett 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Packard Hewlett
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 Packard Hewlett
Strengths Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Packard Hewlett in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Packard Hewlett has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Packard Hewlett 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Packard Hewlett 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 Packard Hewlett in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Packard Hewlett in the sector have low bargaining power. Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Packard Hewlett to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Packard Hewlett 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Packard Hewlett 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Packard Hewlett in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Packard Hewlett 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Packard Hewlett is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Packard Hewlett has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Packard Hewlett to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Packard Hewlett to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Packard Hewlett is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Packard Hewlett has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Packard Hewlett, firm in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Packard Hewlett is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Packard Hewlett takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Packard Hewlett needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Packard Hewlett 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Packard Hewlett is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Packard Hewlett needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Packard Hewlett to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Packard Hewlett supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Packard Hewlett vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Packard Hewlett 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Packard Hewlett is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version | 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version are -
Buying journey improvements
– Packard Hewlett can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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.
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 Packard Hewlett in the consumer business. Now Packard Hewlett can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Packard Hewlett 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Packard Hewlett is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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, Packard Hewlett 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, Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Packard Hewlett can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Packard Hewlett operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Packard Hewlett has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Packard Hewlett to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version case study. Packard Hewlett can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Packard Hewlett can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Packard Hewlett to increase its market reach. Packard Hewlett 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. Packard Hewlett 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. Packard Hewlett 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
– Packard Hewlett 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Packard Hewlett 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.
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. Packard Hewlett can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Packard Hewlett is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Packard Hewlett can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Packard Hewlett business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Packard Hewlett 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. Packard Hewlett can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version, Packard Hewlett 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 .
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. Packard Hewlett 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.
Increasing wage structure of Packard Hewlett
– 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 Packard Hewlett.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Packard Hewlett 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 Packard Hewlett with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Packard Hewlett in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Packard Hewlett 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version .
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Packard Hewlett 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A), Spanish Version 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 Packard Hewlett needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
