Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses!
It was June of 2006, and Amanda Walsh, interim CFO, was soundly criticizing herself for not seeing the bigger picture of what had gone on during the previous 18 months at Vanderville Plastics Company (VPC). Two prior years' financials were still in "draft" form with auditors' statements showing that the firm might not be a going concern. Peter Giroux, the CFO who hired her, had kept Amanda from having any interaction with the company vice presidents, the board, or the owners, maintained a tight grip on both the human resources and payroll operations, and refused to provide details when she questioned him about any aspect of the financial operations. Then, in January of 2006, close to a million dollars in bonuses were paid to senior management and employees, despite the company's precarious cash flow position. Not long after the bonus payment Peter resigned unexpectedly. Today's phone call from Ken Duffy, one of the owners, made all the pieces fit together. Duffy had called for clarification about the sudden decrease in the company's accrued liabilities. The call ended abruptly when Amanda told him that bonuses were paid for performance in the previous 2005 fiscal year. His shocked reaction on the phone made it clear that the owners had not authorized the bonus payments. Amanda started to think about the succession of events since she came to VPC to better understand what this all meant, what was likely to happen next, and what she should do. The case exposes students to the day-to-day life of a professional accountant employed in a small business. COSO considers opportunistic behavior from senior management to secure incentive compensation by using adjusting journal entries the most likely way for fraud to occur. Looking at the events surrounding the payout as they unfold through in the day-to-day life of Amanda should help students develop the professional judgment and skepticism required to better interpret the oral assertions made by management, assess the RMM resulting from fraud, and provide recommendations to improve a client organization's control environment and fraud risk management practices related to incentive compensation and management override of controls.
Swot Analysis of "Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses!" written by Pascale Lapointe-Antunes, Deborah McPhee includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amanda Duffy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Compensation, Ethics, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses!
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amanda Duffy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amanda Duffy 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amanda Duffy
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Amanda Duffy
Strengths Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Amanda Duffy in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Amanda Duffy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Amanda Duffy 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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.
Training and development
– Amanda Duffy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Amanda Duffy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Amanda Duffy in the sector have low bargaining power. Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Amanda Duffy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Amanda Duffy 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 Pascale Lapointe-Antunes, Deborah McPhee 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Amanda Duffy 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! - 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 lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Amanda Duffy 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 Amanda Duffy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Amanda Duffy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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.
Organizational Resilience of Amanda Duffy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Amanda Duffy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Amanda Duffy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Amanda Duffy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! are -
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 Amanda Duffy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses!, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Amanda Duffy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! HBR case study mentions - Amanda Duffy 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Amanda Duffy 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses!, it seems that the employees of Amanda Duffy 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Amanda Duffy 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 - Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Amanda Duffy 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Amanda Duffy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Amanda Duffy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Amanda Duffy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Amanda Duffy 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Amanda Duffy 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Amanda Duffy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Amanda Duffy 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.
Opportunities Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! | 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Amanda Duffy 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Amanda Duffy can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Amanda Duffy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Amanda Duffy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Amanda Duffy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Amanda Duffy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! case study. Amanda Duffy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Amanda Duffy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Amanda Duffy in the consumer business. Now Amanda Duffy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Amanda Duffy 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Amanda Duffy 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. Amanda Duffy 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Amanda Duffy 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Amanda Duffy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amanda Duffy to increase its market reach. Amanda Duffy 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Amanda Duffy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Amanda Duffy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Threats Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Amanda Duffy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amanda Duffy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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 Amanda Duffy in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Amanda Duffy is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Amanda Duffy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Amanda Duffy 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Amanda Duffy 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Amanda Duffy 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Amanda Duffy in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Amanda Duffy 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. Amanda Duffy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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 Amanda Duffy.
Increasing wage structure of Amanda Duffy
– 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 Amanda Duffy.
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 Amanda Duffy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Houston We Have A Problem: They Paid Themselves Bonuses! 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 Amanda Duffy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.