Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive
In a career that spanned over 30 years, Maggie Wilderotter served as CEO of two publicly traded companies and served on 32 corporate and nine association and non-profit boards of directors. As CEO of Frontier Communications, a U.S. telecom company with over $25 billion in assets, Wilderotter executed three major acquisitions, transforming the company's business mix and more than doubling its size. This case explores Wilderotter's career, examining the personal characteristics that made her such a successful executive and board member. The case also looks at the turning points in Wilderotter's career; the decisions she made and the way in which she built her skills.
Authors :: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Robin Abrahams
Swot Analysis of "Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive" written by Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Robin Abrahams includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wilderotter Wilderotter's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Developing employees, Gender, Influence, Leadership, Networking, Strategy and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wilderotter Wilderotter's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wilderotter Wilderotter's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wilderotter Wilderotter's
Strengths Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wilderotter Wilderotter's in Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wilderotter Wilderotter's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Analytics focus
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Robin Abrahams 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 lead change in Organizational Development field
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wilderotter Wilderotter's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wilderotter Wilderotter's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's in the sector have low bargaining power. Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wilderotter Wilderotter's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wilderotter Wilderotter's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Wilderotter Wilderotter's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wilderotter Wilderotter's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wilderotter Wilderotter's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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. Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Robin Abrahams suggests that, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 - Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wilderotter Wilderotter's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wilderotter Wilderotter's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wilderotter Wilderotter's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wilderotter Wilderotter's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Opportunities Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive | 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive are -
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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wilderotter Wilderotter's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wilderotter Wilderotter's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Organizational Development 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. Wilderotter Wilderotter's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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, Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wilderotter Wilderotter's to increase its market reach. Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wilderotter Wilderotter's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wilderotter Wilderotter's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wilderotter Wilderotter's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive, Wilderotter Wilderotter's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
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, Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive .
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. Wilderotter Wilderotter's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wilderotter Wilderotter's is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Wilderotter Wilderotter's 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.
Increasing wage structure of Wilderotter Wilderotter's
– 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive 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 Wilderotter Wilderotter's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
