Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement
In 2018, New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof, and his wife, former Times writer Sheryl WuDunn (HBS '86), who worked in finance, were planning for their next book. The couple's earlier books had given rise to social movements around gender equity and poverty issues. They hoped the next book would be equally powerful. What should the book focus on? What additional content should they create to make sure their writing had an impact?
Authors :: Julie Battilana, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Michael Norris
Swot Analysis of "Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement" written by Julie Battilana, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Michael Norris includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wudunn Kristof facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Organizational culture, Social enterprise and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wudunn Kristof, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wudunn Kristof 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wudunn Kristof
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 Wudunn Kristof
Strengths Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wudunn Kristof in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wudunn Kristof in the sector have low bargaining power. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wudunn Kristof to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Wudunn Kristof is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wudunn Kristof to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wudunn Kristof to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Wudunn Kristof 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 Julie Battilana, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Michael Norris 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wudunn Kristof 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Wudunn Kristof has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wudunn Kristof to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wudunn Kristof 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.
Training and development
– Wudunn Kristof has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Wudunn Kristof 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 Wudunn Kristof in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wudunn Kristof has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wudunn Kristof 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wudunn Kristof 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement - 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 Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wudunn Kristof digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wudunn Kristof 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Wudunn Kristof 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Wudunn Kristof has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Julie Battilana, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Michael Norris suggests that, Wudunn Kristof 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 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 Wudunn Kristof supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wudunn Kristof vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wudunn Kristof needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wudunn Kristof, firm in the HBR case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Wudunn Kristof 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement, in the dynamic environment Wudunn Kristof has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wudunn Kristof has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wudunn Kristof 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement HBR case study mentions - Wudunn Kristof 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.
Opportunities Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement | 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wudunn Kristof 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wudunn Kristof 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.
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. Wudunn Kristof can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wudunn Kristof to increase its market reach. Wudunn Kristof 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.
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 Wudunn Kristof in the consumer business. Now Wudunn Kristof can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wudunn Kristof 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wudunn Kristof can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wudunn Kristof 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wudunn Kristof can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wudunn Kristof has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wudunn Kristof to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement case study. Wudunn Kristof can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Wudunn Kristof can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wudunn Kristof 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, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wudunn Kristof can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wudunn Kristof operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement are -
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.
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. Wudunn Kristof needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Wudunn Kristof 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.
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.
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 Wudunn Kristof.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement, Wudunn Kristof 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 .
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. Wudunn Kristof can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wudunn Kristof 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wudunn Kristof 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wudunn Kristof 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wudunn Kristof 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wudunn Kristof has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wudunn Kristof 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.
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 Wudunn Kristof in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: The Power of Writing to Launch and Sustain a Movement 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 Wudunn Kristof needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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