Swot Analysis of "Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A)" written by John Beshears, Iris Bohnet, Jenny Sanford includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Boardroom Null facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Boardroom Null, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Boardroom Null 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Boardroom Null
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Boardroom Null
Strengths Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Boardroom Null in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Boardroom Null is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Boardroom Null is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Boardroom Null is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Boardroom Null in the sector have low bargaining power. Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Boardroom Null to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Boardroom Null has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Boardroom Null 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Boardroom Null 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) - 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
– Boardroom Null is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Boardroom Null 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.
Learning organization
- Boardroom Null 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 Boardroom Null is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Boardroom Null in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Boardroom Null to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Boardroom Null to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) are -
Need for greater diversity
– Boardroom Null 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John Beshears, Iris Bohnet, Jenny Sanford suggests that, Boardroom Null 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A), in the dynamic environment Boardroom Null has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Boardroom Null has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Boardroom Null 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 - Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Boardroom Null 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Boardroom Null has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Boardroom Null 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Boardroom Null products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Boardroom Null needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Boardroom Null is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Boardroom Null 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Boardroom Null needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) | 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Boardroom Null 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Boardroom Null in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Boardroom Null can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Boardroom Null can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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, Boardroom Null can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Boardroom Null operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Boardroom Null 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.
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 Boardroom Null in the consumer business. Now Boardroom Null can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Boardroom Null 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.
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 Boardroom Null 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, Boardroom Null 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, Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Boardroom Null has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Boardroom Null to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) case study. Boardroom Null can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Boardroom Null can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Boardroom Null 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. Boardroom Null 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.
Threats Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Boardroom Null 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.
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.
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. Boardroom Null 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.
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 Boardroom Null business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Boardroom Null.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Boardroom Null has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Boardroom Null needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Boardroom Null can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Boardroom Null with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A), Boardroom Null may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
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. Boardroom Null needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Boardroom Null is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Boardroom Null in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom: The United Kingdom in 2011 (A) 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 Boardroom Null needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.