The Canons of Rhetoric SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Canons of Rhetoric
This technical note is employed in MBA, executive education, and undergraduate courses that cover the art of persuasion. It is used in the core Management Communication course at Darden. Employing the canons of rhetoric devised by Aristotle and his classical contemporaries, the objective of the note is to provide students with a clear and usable map to guide them as they seek to understand the dynamics involved in persuading others. Persuasion is a critical management skill that must be mastered at all levels of the organization, but it is especially important for those at the leadership level. Most managerial communication goes beyond the sharing of information and involves elements of persuasion. Along with the five canons-invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery-this note also outlines the three primary modes of persuasion: ethos (an appeal to values), pathos (an emotional appeal), and logos (a logic-based appeal). This note often is used in conjunction with the technical note, Leadership Voice and Style.
Swot Analysis of "The Canons of Rhetoric" written by Brian Moriarty includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Persuasion Canons facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Canons of Rhetoric case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Influence, Leading teams and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Canons of Rhetoric casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Canons of Rhetoric
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Canons of Rhetoric case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Persuasion Canons, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Persuasion Canons 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 The Canons of Rhetoric can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Canons of Rhetoric case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Persuasion Canons
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Persuasion Canons
Strengths The Canons of Rhetoric | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Persuasion Canons in The Canons of Rhetoric Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Persuasion Canons 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 The Canons of Rhetoric HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Persuasion Canons is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Canons of Rhetoric are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Persuasion Canons is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Canons of Rhetoric Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Canons of Rhetoric 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 Persuasion Canons in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Persuasion Canons 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 The Canons of Rhetoric - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Persuasion Canons digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Persuasion Canons 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Persuasion Canons has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Persuasion Canons 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.
Learning organization
- Persuasion Canons 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 Persuasion Canons is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Canons of Rhetoric Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Persuasion Canons is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Canons of Rhetoric 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Persuasion Canons in the sector have low bargaining power. The Canons of Rhetoric has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Persuasion Canons to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– The Canons of Rhetoric firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Persuasion Canons to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Persuasion Canons to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses The Canons of Rhetoric | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Canons of Rhetoric are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Persuasion Canons 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Persuasion Canons 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Persuasion Canons, firm in the HBR case study The Canons of Rhetoric needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Persuasion Canons is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Persuasion Canons needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Persuasion Canons to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Persuasion Canons 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Canons of Rhetoric HBR case study mentions - Persuasion Canons 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Canons of Rhetoric, is just above the industry average. Persuasion Canons 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Canons of Rhetoric, it seems that the employees of Persuasion Canons 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Persuasion Canons 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Persuasion Canons 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. Persuasion Canons 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Canons of Rhetoric, in the dynamic environment Persuasion Canons has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Persuasion Canons has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities The Canons of Rhetoric | 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 The Canons of Rhetoric are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Communication industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Persuasion Canons 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. Persuasion Canons 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Persuasion Canons 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Persuasion Canons can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Persuasion Canons operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
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 Persuasion Canons 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 Persuasion Canons 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 Communication 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. Persuasion Canons can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Persuasion Canons can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Persuasion Canons 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Persuasion Canons has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Persuasion Canons to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Canons of Rhetoric case study. Persuasion Canons can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Persuasion Canons to increase its market reach. Persuasion Canons 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Persuasion Canons can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communication 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Persuasion Canons 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Persuasion Canons 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 Persuasion Canons to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The Canons of Rhetoric External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Canons of Rhetoric are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Persuasion Canons is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Persuasion Canons in the Communication industry. The Communication 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Persuasion Canons 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 The Canons of Rhetoric .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Persuasion Canons 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.
Environmental challenges
– Persuasion Canons 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. Persuasion Canons can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
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. Persuasion Canons 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.
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 Persuasion Canons business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Persuasion Canons
– 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 Persuasion Canons.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communication field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Persuasion Canons can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Persuasion Canons in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Persuasion Canons 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Canons of Rhetoric, Persuasion Canons may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communication .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Canons of Rhetoric 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 The Canons of Rhetoric 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 The Canons of Rhetoric 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 The Canons of Rhetoric 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 The Canons of Rhetoric 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 Persuasion Canons needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.