Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E)
Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.
Swot Analysis of "Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E)" written by George F. Halow, Brian Talbot includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Andrea Career facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Andrea Career, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Andrea Career 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Andrea Career
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Andrea Career
Strengths Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Andrea Career in Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Andrea Career 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Andrea Career has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Andrea Career to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Andrea Career
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Andrea Career does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Andrea Career in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Andrea Career is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Andrea Career 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 George F. Halow, Brian Talbot 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Andrea Career is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Andrea Career 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Andrea Career has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Andrea Career 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Andrea Career is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Andrea Career 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.
Weaknesses Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) are -
Need for greater diversity
– Andrea Career 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Andrea Career has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Andrea Career is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Andrea Career is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Andrea Career needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Andrea Career to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E), in the dynamic environment Andrea Career has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Andrea Career has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Andrea Career 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Andrea Career, firm in the HBR case study Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Andrea Career 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Andrea Career products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Andrea Career needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Andrea Career 's lucrative customers.
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 Andrea Career supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Andrea Career vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) | 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Andrea Career can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Andrea Career 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 Andrea Career to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Andrea Career has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Andrea Career to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) case study. Andrea Career can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Andrea Career in the consumer business. Now Andrea Career can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Andrea Career can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Andrea Career to increase its market reach. Andrea Career 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Andrea Career 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Developing new processes and practices
– Andrea Career can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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. Andrea Career can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Andrea Career 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Andrea Career 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. Andrea Career 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Andrea Career can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Andrea Career operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Andrea Career 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Andrea Career to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) are -
Regulatory challenges
– Andrea Career 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Andrea Career with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Andrea Career 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) .
Environmental challenges
– Andrea Career 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. Andrea Career can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Andrea Career 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Andrea Career has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Andrea Career needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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. Andrea Career 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
– Andrea Career 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Andrea Career 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Andrea Career is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E), Andrea Career may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace (E) 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 Andrea Career needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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