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, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Megaprojects Projects to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Megaprojects Projects to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
Organizational Resilience of Megaprojects Projects
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Megaprojects Projects does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Megaprojects Projects is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
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.
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Megaprojects Projects in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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.
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.
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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Megaprojects Projects 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, 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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, is just above the industry average. Megaprojects Projects needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Megaprojects Projects 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.
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.
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 -
Developing new processes and practices
– Megaprojects Projects 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.
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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Megaprojects Projects can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Megaprojects Projects operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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.
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. Megaprojects Projects 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. Megaprojects Projects 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Megaprojects Projects 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 Five Rules for Managing Large, Complex Projects - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Megaprojects Projects to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Megaprojects Projects can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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 Megaprojects Projects in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Megaprojects Projects 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.
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 Megaprojects Projects business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Megaprojects Projects has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Megaprojects Projects 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.
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 .
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Megaprojects Projects can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
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.