Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers
Talent management continues to be a topic of interest for employers who face significant challenges dealing with the uncertainty of the supply and demand of talent in organizations. In particular, employers often speak of a talent gap that exists between the skills possessed by applicants and the skills needed in organizations. Supply chain management (SCM), a field that focuses on matching product supply with consumer demand, offers several concepts and models that could apply to and help resolve issues related to the skills mismatch. In order to address this issue, we base our conceptual development on a theoretical framework used in SCM called the collaborative, planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) approach. We use this approach to develop a comprehensive model of talent supply chain management (TSCM) that applies concepts related to the field of SCM to managing the development and flow of talent. We further go on to describe how organizations can utilize TSCM to enhance connections with talent suppliers to get their labor demands fulfilled with individuals who have the necessary skills for success.
Swot Analysis of "Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers" written by Erin E. Makarius, Mahesh Srinivasan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Talent Scm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Talent management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption,
increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Talent Scm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Talent Scm 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Talent Scm
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Talent Scm
Strengths Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Talent Scm in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Talent Scm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Talent Scm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Talent Scm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Talent Scm digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Talent Scm 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Talent Scm 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.
High brand equity
– Talent Scm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Talent Scm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Talent Scm 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 Talent Scm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Talent Scm 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Talent Scm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Talent Scm 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 Organizational Development field
– Talent Scm 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 Talent Scm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Talent Scm 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Talent Scm
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Talent Scm does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Talent Scm has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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.
Weaknesses Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers HBR case study mentions - Talent Scm 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Talent Scm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Talent Scm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers, is just above the industry average. Talent Scm 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Talent Scm is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Talent Scm needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Talent Scm to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Talent Scm 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 - Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Talent Scm 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Talent Scm 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Talent Scm 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers, in the dynamic environment Talent Scm has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Talent Scm has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Talent Scm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Talent Scm 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. Talent Scm 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.
Opportunities Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers | 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers are -
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 Talent Scm 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Talent Scm in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Talent Scm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Talent Scm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Talent Scm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Talent Scm can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
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 Talent Scm in the consumer business. Now Talent Scm can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Talent Scm 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 Talent Scm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Talent Scm 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Talent Scm to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Talent Scm 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 Talent Scm to increase its market reach. Talent Scm 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Talent Scm can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Talent Scm 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 Organizational Development segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Talent Scm 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, Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers are -
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. Talent Scm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Talent Scm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Talent Scm 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Talent Scm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Talent Scm 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.
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. Talent Scm 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 Talent Scm
– 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 Talent Scm.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Talent Scm 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Talent Scm 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Talent Scm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Talent Scm needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers, Talent Scm may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers 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 Talent Scm 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 Addressing Skills Mismatch: Utilizing Talent Supply Chain Management to Enhance Collaboration Between Companies and Talent Suppliers