DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO

This case describes DTE Energy CEO Gerry Anderson's transformation from a hard-nosed, "old school" leader to an authentic, purpose-driven leader implementing positive change. Students follow along as Anderson begins re-thinking his approach to leadership from a cost-focus to a more holistic view that employees are not "simply factors of production" and that management by edict was not sustainable. But just as Anderson is slowly earning employees' trust, the recession of 2008 hits and DTE faces a potential loss of $175 million. Anderson is confronted with the biggest challenge of his career: should he lay off a large portion of the workforce to save the company? Such a move would undermine all he had been working toward in his new leadership style and would destroy the trust he had been trying to build in the company, but his management team sees no alternative. What should Anderson do? This is Case A of a three-case series which can be taught sequentially or as stand-alone cases. The cases describe the organizational transformation of energy utility company DTE Energy into a positive organization, focusing first on the personal transformation of DTE's CEO, Gerry Anderson (Case A); then on the transformation of the company (Case B) and finally on DTE Energy's advancement to the "next level" - positive social issues to improve the wider community and societal context in which the company operates (Case C).

Authors :: Robert Quinn

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Leadership, Organizational culture, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO" written by Robert Quinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dte Anderson facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dte Anderson, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dte Anderson 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dte Anderson
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 Dte Anderson

---

Strengths DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Dte Anderson in DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO Harvard Business Review case study are -

High brand equity

– Dte Anderson has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dte Anderson to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry

– DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dte Anderson to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dte Anderson to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field

– Dte Anderson 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 Dte Anderson in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Dte Anderson has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Dte Anderson is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Dte Anderson in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dte Anderson digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dte Anderson 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 Dte Anderson 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Dte Anderson 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Organizational Resilience of Dte Anderson

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Dte Anderson 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 Dte Anderson 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.

---

---

Weaknesses DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO are -

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Dte Anderson 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. Dte Anderson 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO HBR case study mentions - Dte Anderson 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dte Anderson 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO, in the dynamic environment Dte Anderson has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dte Anderson has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dte Anderson is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Dte Anderson 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Dte Anderson, firm in the HBR case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO, is just above the industry average. Dte Anderson 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 Dte Anderson 's lucrative customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Dte Anderson 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dte Anderson is planning to shift buying processes online.

---

Opportunities DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO | 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 Dte Anderson 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 Dte Anderson 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Dte Anderson 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Dte Anderson 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dte Anderson is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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.

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. Dte Anderson can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Dte Anderson 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dte Anderson to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dte Anderson 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, DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO, 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 Dte Anderson 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dte Anderson 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 Dte Anderson to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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 Dte Anderson in the consumer business. Now Dte Anderson can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dte Anderson can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dte Anderson operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dte Anderson 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.

---

Threats DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO are -

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 Dte Anderson.

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. Dte Anderson can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Dte Anderson with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Dte Anderson 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 .

Regulatory challenges

– Dte Anderson 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dte Anderson 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Dte Anderson is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Dte Anderson

– 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 Dte Anderson.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Dte Anderson 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.

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 Dte Anderson in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dte Anderson 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO .

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 DTE Energy (A): Becoming a Transformational Leader: Gerry Anderson, Chairman and CEO 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 Dte Anderson needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---