Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery?
Kaiser Permanente (KP) is the largest managed care organization in the US with over 10 million members. KP evolved from a pre-payment or capitation model that focuses the organization around the efficiency of care and the health of the population it serves. This financial model is in stark contrast to the fee-for-service payment model for other health care organizations. Given the epidemic of obesity in the US, KP is facing an enormous potential liability from future costs of obesity and diabetes. Given low turnover in health plan membership, how should they respond to this crisis? How should they invest in the health of their covered population, their employees, and the communities they serve? The case details the origins and development of KP.
Authors :: Kevin Schulman, Gregory Leya, Christiana Beveridge
Swot Analysis of "Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery?" written by Kevin Schulman, Gregory Leya, Christiana Beveridge includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kp Obesity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kp Obesity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kp Obesity 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kp Obesity
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kp Obesity
Strengths Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kp Obesity in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kp Obesity digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kp Obesity 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.
High brand equity
– Kp Obesity has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kp Obesity to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Kp Obesity 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 Kevin Schulman, Gregory Leya, Christiana Beveridge 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kp Obesity 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kp Obesity 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kp Obesity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Kp Obesity
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kp Obesity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kp Obesity in the sector have low bargaining power. Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kp Obesity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kp Obesity 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? - 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 lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Kp Obesity 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 Kp Obesity in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Kp Obesity 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 Kp Obesity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Kp Obesity is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kp Obesity 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kp Obesity is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? HBR case study mentions - Kp Obesity takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kp Obesity 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Kp Obesity 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kp Obesity 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. Kp Obesity 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery?, in the dynamic environment Kp Obesity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kp Obesity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kp Obesity is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Kp Obesity needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kp Obesity to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kp Obesity, firm in the HBR case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kp Obesity is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Kp Obesity has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? | 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? are -
Manufacturing automation
– Kp Obesity can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Kp Obesity can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kp Obesity to increase its market reach. Kp Obesity 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kp Obesity can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kp Obesity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kp Obesity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Kp Obesity 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. Kp Obesity 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kp Obesity 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 Kp Obesity in the consumer business. Now Kp Obesity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kp Obesity can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kp Obesity 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 Kp Obesity 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 Kp Obesity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kp Obesity 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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 Kp Obesity 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.
Threats Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kp Obesity 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
– Kp Obesity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kp Obesity needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kp Obesity 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kp Obesity in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kp Obesity is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kp Obesity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Kp Obesity business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kp Obesity with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kp Obesity 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.
Environmental challenges
– Kp Obesity 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. Kp Obesity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing wage structure of Kp Obesity
– 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 Kp Obesity.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Obesity Management at Kaiser Permanente: A New Mindset for Healthcare Delivery? 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 Kp Obesity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
