Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma
A senior manager at Ergonomica Consulting was under pressure to demonstrate to her client Solltram Hotels that the hotel's investment in LED lighting would provide a payback. Winning the client's buy-in would lead to an extension of the contract with the client, development of a new specialist practice area within Ergonomica Consulting, improvement of the manager's chances of promotion, and the cementing of her reputation. However, at a critical moment, the manager discovered that a previously hidden error in her main spreadsheet, which contained over two million data points, had resulted in her overestimating the cost savings for the client. Should she conceal the mistake and win the important contract, improving her chances of promotion? Or should she own up to the mistake and risk losing the account, her promotion, and her reputation? Christopher Williams is affiliated with Durham University.
Swot Analysis of "Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma" written by Christopher Williams includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ergonomica Solltram facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ergonomica Solltram, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ergonomica Solltram 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ergonomica Solltram
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 Ergonomica Solltram
Strengths Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ergonomica Solltram in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ergonomica Solltram 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 Ergonomica Solltram in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ergonomica Solltram is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Ergonomica Solltram 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 Christopher Williams 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ergonomica Solltram is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ergonomica Solltram digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ergonomica Solltram 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ergonomica Solltram to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ergonomica Solltram to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Ergonomica Solltram is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ergonomica Solltram
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ergonomica Solltram does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ergonomica Solltram 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ergonomica Solltram is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ergonomica Solltram 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. Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ergonomica Solltram products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ergonomica Solltram needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Solltram 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma, is just above the industry average. Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ergonomica Solltram 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Solltram has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher Williams suggests that, Ergonomica Solltram is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ergonomica Solltram is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Opportunities Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma | 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ergonomica Solltram 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 Ergonomica Solltram to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ergonomica Solltram 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.
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 Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ergonomica Solltram can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ergonomica Solltram operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ergonomica Solltram 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. Ergonomica Solltram can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ergonomica Solltram can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Ergonomica Solltram can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ergonomica Solltram is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Threats Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma, Ergonomica Solltram 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ergonomica Solltram has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ergonomica Solltram 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Increasing wage structure of Ergonomica Solltram
– 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 Ergonomica Solltram.
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. Ergonomica Solltram will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ergonomica Solltram with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ergonomica Solltram 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ergonomica Solltram 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
– Ergonomica Solltram 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.
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 Ergonomica Solltram business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Ergonomica Solltram needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ergonomica Solltram 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Consulting and Solltram Hotels: An Ethical Dilemma 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 Ergonomica Solltram needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
