Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects
"Megaprojects"-defined as projects with budgets exceeding $1 billion -are important contributors to numerous sectors, including health care, defense, mining, telecommunications, transport, energy and water infrastructure, sporting events, science, and manufacturing. They represent a significant proportion of many nations'economic activity and profoundly affect productivity, social cohesion, and the environment. Yet megaprojects have proved notoriously difficult to deliver on time and on budget; one estimate suggests that 90% of them end up over budget. Based on more than 10 years of research into a number of megaprojects in London, including the infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympics and the construction of two new terminals at Heathrow Airport, the authors conclude that one way to manage the uncertainties inherent in megaprojects is to innovate throughout the course of the project. What's more, they argue that their suggestions are applicable to all large-scale, long-term projects -not just projects with billon-dollar budgets.
Authors :: Andrew Davies, Mark Dodgson, David Gann, Sam MacAulay
Swot Analysis of "Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects" written by Andrew Davies, Mark Dodgson, David Gann, Sam MacAulay includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Megaprojects Projects facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Megaprojects Projects, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Megaprojects Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Megaprojects Projects
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 Megaprojects Projects
Strengths Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Megaprojects Projects in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Megaprojects Projects has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Megaprojects Projects 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.
Learning organization
- Megaprojects Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Megaprojects Projects 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Megaprojects Projects 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.
High brand equity
– Megaprojects Projects has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Megaprojects Projects to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Megaprojects Projects has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Megaprojects Projects has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Megaprojects Projects in the sector have low bargaining power. Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Megaprojects Projects to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Megaprojects Projects is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Megaprojects Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Megaprojects Projects is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Megaprojects Projects is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Megaprojects Projects, firm in the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, in the dynamic environment Megaprojects Projects has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Megaprojects Projects 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, Megaprojects Projects is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Megaprojects Projects 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, it seems that the employees of Megaprojects Projects 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Megaprojects Projects 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. Megaprojects Projects 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Megaprojects Projects 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 - Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Megaprojects Projects supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Megaprojects Projects vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Megaprojects Projects is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Megaprojects Projects needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Megaprojects Projects to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects | 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Megaprojects Projects in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People 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. Megaprojects Projects can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Megaprojects Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Megaprojects Projects 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Megaprojects Projects can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Megaprojects Projects is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Megaprojects Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Megaprojects Projects has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Megaprojects Projects to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects case study. Megaprojects Projects can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Megaprojects Projects 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Megaprojects Projects can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Buying journey improvements
– Megaprojects Projects can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects 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.
Threats Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, Megaprojects Projects 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Megaprojects Projects demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Megaprojects Projects 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.
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. Megaprojects Projects needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Megaprojects Projects 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Megaprojects Projects is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Megaprojects Projects 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. Megaprojects Projects can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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, Megaprojects Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects .
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. Megaprojects Projects 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Megaprojects Projects in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Megaprojects Projects with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Megaprojects Projects.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects 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 Megaprojects Projects needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.