The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation
All of the things that allowed companies to build massively- valuable, industrial-scale businesses in the 20th century are now 'for rent': You can rent 'scale' from companies like Foxconn (as Apple does); communication infrastructure from Trillium; computing capacity from Amazon; and logistics capacity from FedEx or UPS. So, what matters today? Data, says the author, an executive at SAS. He provides three reasons why 'data is the new oil': it is scalable, reinforcable and defensible. He then describes three key challenges for today's leaders and provides five principles for moving forward on your organization's digital transformation.
Swot Analysis of "The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation" written by Maxwell Wessel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rent Reinforcable facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rent Reinforcable, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rent Reinforcable 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rent Reinforcable
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Rent Reinforcable
Strengths The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rent Reinforcable in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Rent Reinforcable
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rent Reinforcable does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Rent Reinforcable has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rent Reinforcable to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Rent Reinforcable 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Rent Reinforcable is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Rent Reinforcable digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Rent Reinforcable 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Rent Reinforcable 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 Rent Reinforcable in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rent Reinforcable 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Rent Reinforcable is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rent Reinforcable 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.
Training and development
– Rent Reinforcable has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rent Reinforcable 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 The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Rent Reinforcable 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 Maxwell Wessel 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rent Reinforcable has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 Rent Reinforcable has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Rent Reinforcable supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rent Reinforcable vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, is just above the industry average. Rent Reinforcable 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Rent Reinforcable products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rent Reinforcable needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Rent Reinforcable, firm in the HBR case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Rent Reinforcable 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rent Reinforcable is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation HBR case study mentions - Rent Reinforcable 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, in the dynamic environment Rent Reinforcable has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rent Reinforcable has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation | 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Rent Reinforcable 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. Rent Reinforcable 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 Rent Reinforcable 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rent Reinforcable 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Rent Reinforcable can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Rent Reinforcable can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rent Reinforcable can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rent Reinforcable operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rent Reinforcable 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rent Reinforcable to increase its market reach. Rent Reinforcable 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rent Reinforcable has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rent Reinforcable to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation case study. Rent Reinforcable can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rent Reinforcable in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rent Reinforcable 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 The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rent Reinforcable to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rent Reinforcable 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rent Reinforcable 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 Rent Reinforcable to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation, Rent Reinforcable may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Increasing wage structure of Rent Reinforcable
– 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 Rent Reinforcable.
Environmental challenges
– Rent Reinforcable 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. Rent Reinforcable can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Rent Reinforcable in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Rent Reinforcable 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rent Reinforcable 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rent Reinforcable with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rent Reinforcable has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rent Reinforcable needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Rent Reinforcable.
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. Rent Reinforcable needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rent Reinforcable 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Rent Reinforcable 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 New Leadership Imperative: Embracing Digital Transformation 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 Rent Reinforcable needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
