Case Study Description of Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi
Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, Hitachi had invested in developing new "people analytics" technologies to help companies increase employee happiness. Hitachi had begun manufacturing high-tech badges that quantify a wearer's activity patterns. Data from these devices revealed an unusually high correlation between certain patterns of activity and a person's subjective sense of happiness at work. Unlike mood rings or even facial expressions, both of which were highly unreliable, Dr. Kazuo Yano--the mastermind responsible for bringing ""happiness sensors"" to market--believed he now had the ability to accurately sense happiness. When combined with other sources of data like Outlook calendars or email, Dr. Yano's team could pinpoint with scientific precision which activities, events, or even people generated the most happiness in employees at work. With a firm proof of concept in hand, Dr. Yano was ready to push the business model further. He was rolling out an app to provide personalized "happiness" recommendations to employees, and he was considering other ways to automate the model to bring it to scale. He was confident that the new technology had the power to transform employee happiness and the productivity of workforces, in Japan and beyond, if he could only find the right business model to launch such a happiness movement.
Swot Analysis of "Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi" written by Ethan S. Bernstein, Stephanie Marton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Happiness Hitachi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Human resource management, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Happiness Hitachi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Happiness Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Happiness Hitachi
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 Happiness Hitachi
Strengths Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Happiness Hitachi in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Happiness Hitachi is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Happiness Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Happiness Hitachi
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Happiness Hitachi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Happiness Hitachi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Happiness Hitachi to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Happiness Hitachi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Happiness Hitachi 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.
Training and development
– Happiness Hitachi has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Happiness Hitachi is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Happiness Hitachi in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Happiness Hitachi has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Happiness Hitachi 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.
Analytics focus
– Happiness Hitachi 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 Ethan S. Bernstein, Stephanie Marton 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Happiness Hitachi digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Happiness Hitachi 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.
Weaknesses Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Happiness Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Happiness Hitachi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi, is just above the industry average. Happiness Hitachi 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Happiness Hitachi has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ethan S. Bernstein, Stephanie Marton suggests that, Happiness Hitachi 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Happiness Hitachi 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Happiness Hitachi 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Happiness Hitachi is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Happiness Hitachi needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Happiness Hitachi to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Happiness Hitachi 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi, in the dynamic environment Happiness Hitachi has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Happiness Hitachi has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi | 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Happiness Hitachi 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Happiness Hitachi 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Happiness Hitachi 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. Happiness Hitachi 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Happiness Hitachi can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Happiness Hitachi has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Happiness Hitachi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Happiness Hitachi to increase its market reach. Happiness Hitachi 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Happiness Hitachi 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Happiness Hitachi 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, Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Happiness Hitachi 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 Happiness Hitachi in the consumer business. Now Happiness Hitachi can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Happiness Hitachi 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, Happiness Hitachi 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.
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. Happiness Hitachi can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Happiness Hitachi in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Happiness Hitachi can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Happiness Hitachi in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Happiness Hitachi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Happiness Hitachi 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.
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 Happiness Hitachi business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Happiness Hitachi
– 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 Happiness Hitachi.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Happiness Hitachi is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Happiness Hitachi 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. Happiness Hitachi can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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.
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 Happiness Hitachi.
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. Happiness Hitachi can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi, Happiness Hitachi 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi 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 Happiness Hitachi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
