The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?
Companies are increasingly encouraging employees to use Facebook and other social media to interact with coworkers in order to empower collaboration and knowledge sharing. Yet, there is a hidden problem that has been neglected by managers. The more employees interact with coworkers through social media to facilitate their work in the organization, the more likely they are to learn about and become interested in other companies via social media, form new work connections outside the organization, and engage in job search behaviors. The use of social media to facilitate work and benefit organizations could paradoxically risk fostering withdrawal intentions and turnover, which damage organizations. This article provides evidence of this paradox from an empirical study. After having identified the problem, the article proposes both the solutions to avoid and the solutions to adopt, illustrating best practices from successful companies, comparing their benefits and costs, and indicating the situations in which each solution is best implemented. To conclude, I offer 10 recommendations to turn the problem into an opportunity and use social media as an innovative recruitment tool.
Swot Analysis of "The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?" written by Lorenzo Bizzi includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Media Coworkers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Social platforms, Strategy, Talent management and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Media Coworkers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Media Coworkers 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Media Coworkers
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 Media Coworkers
Strengths The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Media Coworkers in The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Media Coworkers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Communication field
– Media Coworkers 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 Media Coworkers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Media Coworkers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Media Coworkers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Media Coworkers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Media Coworkers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Media Coworkers in the sector have low bargaining power. The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Media Coworkers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Media Coworkers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Media Coworkers 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Media Coworkers 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Media Coworkers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Media Coworkers 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 Media Coworkers 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.
Analytics focus
– Media Coworkers 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 Lorenzo Bizzi 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Media Coworkers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Media Coworkers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Media Coworkers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Media Coworkers has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High 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 Media Coworkers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Media Coworkers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Media Coworkers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Media Coworkers 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?, in the dynamic environment Media Coworkers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Media Coworkers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? HBR case study mentions - Media Coworkers 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Media Coworkers 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Media Coworkers, firm in the HBR case study The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Media Coworkers 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Media Coworkers has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Communication 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.
Opportunities The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? | 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Media Coworkers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Media Coworkers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Media Coworkers 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Media Coworkers in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communication segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Media Coworkers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Media Coworkers 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, The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Media Coworkers can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Media Coworkers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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.
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 Media Coworkers 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Media Coworkers can develop new processes and procedures in Communication 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Media Coworkers 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Media Coworkers 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Media Coworkers 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Media Coworkers to increase its market reach. Media Coworkers 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.
Threats The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? are -
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. Media Coworkers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Media Coworkers.
Environmental challenges
– Media Coworkers 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. Media Coworkers 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. Media Coworkers 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Media Coworkers 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Media Coworkers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communication industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Media Coworkers needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communication 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 Media Coworkers in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Media Coworkers
– 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 Media Coworkers.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Media Coworkers 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? .
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. Media Coworkers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Media Coworkers 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Hidden Problem of Facebook and Social Media at Work: What If Employees Start Searching for Other Jobs? 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 Media Coworkers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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