Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B)
Supplement to case HR44A. This is the follow up case to "Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (A)." This (B) case presents the results of the company's two major people analytics projects, which are described in the (A) case. The first project used data to identify empirically the traits of great managers and subsequently identify who might or might not be a great manager. This enabled RBC to help those managers who could benefit from coaching or other types of interventions. The second project used both internal and customer data to diagnose whether any specific branch, region, or product innovation was not doing as well as it could be-and why not.
Swot Analysis of "Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B)" written by Debra Schifrin, Kathryn Shaw includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Analytics Royal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Career planning, Change management, Compensation, Human resource management, Organizational culture, Strategy and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Analytics Royal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Analytics Royal 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Analytics Royal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Analytics Royal
Strengths Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Analytics Royal in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Analytics Royal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Analytics Royal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Analytics Royal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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.
Training and development
– Analytics Royal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Analytics Royal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Analytics Royal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Analytics Royal 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 Analytics Royal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Analytics Royal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Analytics Royal 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Analytics Royal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Analytics Royal 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Analytics Royal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Analytics Royal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Analytics Royal 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.
Analytics focus
– Analytics Royal 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 Debra Schifrin, Kathryn Shaw 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 lead change in Communication field
– Analytics Royal 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 Analytics Royal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Analytics Royal has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Analytics Royal 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 Analytics Royal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Analytics Royal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Analytics Royal 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, Analytics Royal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B), in the dynamic environment Analytics Royal has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Analytics Royal has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Analytics Royal 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 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 Analytics Royal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Analytics Royal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Analytics Royal 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. Analytics Royal 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Analytics Royal, firm in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B), it seems that the employees of Analytics Royal don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) | 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Analytics Royal to increase its market reach. Analytics Royal 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Analytics Royal 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Analytics Royal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Analytics Royal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) case study. Analytics Royal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Analytics Royal 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 Communication industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Analytics Royal 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. Analytics Royal can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Analytics Royal in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communication 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 Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Analytics Royal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Analytics Royal in the consumer business. Now Analytics Royal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Analytics Royal 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Analytics Royal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Analytics Royal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Analytics Royal 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Analytics Royal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Analytics Royal 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 Analytics Royal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B), Analytics Royal may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communication .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Analytics Royal in the Communication industry. The Communication industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Regulatory challenges
– Analytics Royal 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 Communication industry regulations.
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. Analytics Royal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Analytics Royal.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Analytics Royal 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.
Increasing wage structure of Analytics Royal
– 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 Analytics Royal.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Analytics Royal 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.
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 Analytics Royal in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Analytics Royal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Analytics Royal is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Using People Strategy and Analytics to Drive Employee Performance (B) 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 Analytics Royal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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