Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh
Bill Strickland, executive director of both Bidwell Training Center and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, has built a highly successful training organization to enable underprivileged minorities in Pittsburgh to escape the cycle of poverty. His success has led to questions of expansion, focus, and core competencies.
Swot Analysis of "Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh" written by James L. Heskett, Roger Hallowell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Craftsmen's Bidwell facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Social enterprise and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, 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,
increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Craftsmen's Bidwell, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Craftsmen's Bidwell
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 Craftsmen's Bidwell
Strengths Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Craftsmen's Bidwell in Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Craftsmen's Bidwell has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Craftsmen's Bidwell digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Craftsmen's Bidwell is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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.
Analytics focus
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 James L. Heskett, Roger Hallowell 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 brand equity
– Craftsmen's Bidwell has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Craftsmen's Bidwell to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Craftsmen's Bidwell is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Craftsmen's Bidwell is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell in the sector have low bargaining power. Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Craftsmen's Bidwell to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Craftsmen's Bidwell products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Craftsmen's Bidwell needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh HBR case study mentions - Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell, firm in the HBR case study Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Craftsmen's Bidwell is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Craftsmen's Bidwell needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Craftsmen's Bidwell to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James L. Heskett, Roger Hallowell suggests that, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Craftsmen's Bidwell is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 - Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh, 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.
Opportunities Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh | 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh are -
Buying journey improvements
– Craftsmen's Bidwell can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Craftsmen's Bidwell in the consumer business. Now Craftsmen's Bidwell can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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. Craftsmen's Bidwell can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Craftsmen's Bidwell can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
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. Craftsmen's Bidwell 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. Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Craftsmen's Bidwell to increase its market reach. Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
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. Craftsmen's Bidwell can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Craftsmen's Bidwell is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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.
Threats Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Craftsmen's Bidwell has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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. Craftsmen's Bidwell can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Craftsmen's Bidwell business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Craftsmen's Bidwell 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. Craftsmen's Bidwell can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Craftsmen's Bidwell.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Craftsmen's Bidwell 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Craftsmen's Bidwell 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh .
Increasing wage structure of Craftsmen's Bidwell
– 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh 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 Craftsmen's Bidwell needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh
