Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth
In late 2015, Apigee, a fast-growing technology firm, faced competitive pressures. It needed to scale up rapidly, which included hiring additional staff. At the regional office in India, some members of the senior leadership team wondered whether the company would need to modify its human resources practices. The firm had been operating in a unique organizational culture that encouraged employees' openness and freedom, in keeping with its core values of passion, a bias for action, and respect. How could Apigee integrate its unique culture with the organization's growth plans? The senior leadership team needed to decide how Apigee could retain its personalized approach, culture of freedom, and high levels of employee empowerment, as the company expanded both in size and scope. Ranjeet Nambudiri is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore. S. Ramnarayan is affiliated with Indian School of Business.
Authors :: Ranjeet Nambudiri, S. Ramnarayan, Catherine Xavier
Swot Analysis of "Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth" written by Ranjeet Nambudiri, S. Ramnarayan, Catherine Xavier includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Apigee Freedom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Motivating people, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Apigee Freedom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Apigee Freedom 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Apigee Freedom
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 Apigee Freedom
Strengths Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Apigee Freedom in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Apigee Freedom 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 Apigee Freedom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Apigee Freedom is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Apigee Freedom in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Apigee Freedom is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Apigee Freedom has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Apigee Freedom 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Apigee Freedom in the sector have low bargaining power. Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Apigee Freedom to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Apigee Freedom is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Apigee Freedom 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.
Organizational Resilience of Apigee Freedom
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Apigee Freedom 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 Apigee Freedom are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Apigee Freedom has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Apigee Freedom to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Apigee Freedom 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 Apigee Freedom is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth are -
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 Apigee Freedom supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Apigee Freedom vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth HBR case study mentions - Apigee Freedom 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Apigee Freedom is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Apigee Freedom has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee Freedom 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Apigee Freedom 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 - Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Apigee Freedom 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. Apigee Freedom 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, it seems that the employees of Apigee Freedom 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, is just above the industry average. Apigee Freedom 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ranjeet Nambudiri, S. Ramnarayan, Catherine Xavier suggests that, Apigee Freedom 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.
Opportunities Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth | 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Apigee Freedom is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Apigee Freedom can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Apigee Freedom operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Apigee Freedom 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, Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Apigee Freedom can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Apigee Freedom to increase its market reach. Apigee Freedom 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Apigee Freedom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Apigee Freedom has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Apigee Freedom to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth case study. Apigee Freedom can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Apigee Freedom 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Apigee Freedom 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.
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. Apigee Freedom can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Apigee Freedom can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Apigee Freedom 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.
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 Apigee Freedom in the consumer business. Now Apigee Freedom can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth are -
Environmental challenges
– Apigee Freedom 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. Apigee Freedom can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Apigee Freedom 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Apigee Freedom is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth, Apigee Freedom 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Apigee Freedom with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Apigee Freedom 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
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. Apigee Freedom 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Apigee Freedom
– 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 Apigee Freedom.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Apigee Freedom 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 Apigee Freedom 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
– Apigee Freedom has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Apigee Freedom needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee: People Management Practices and the Challenge of Growth 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 Apigee Freedom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.