Leadership Under High Pressure SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership Under High Pressure
When managers are confronted with a corporate crisis, they have to operate under conditions that differ fundamentally from those experienced during normal management processes. They may have to work with specialized teams and understand their priorities and decision making processes, without giving up their own responsibilities. The following case simulation confronts participants with an escalating crisis situation in an unfamiliar environment and requires a series of team decisions to be taken under time pressure. The case is based on real experiences of the German Air Force during its ISAF mission in Afghanistan. The participants are divided into groups of four, each group being responsible for a large military transport aircraft and its mission. Within the groups, each participant assumes the role of a specified flight crew member. Each participant receives individual instructions on their roles and duties as well as background information on the other crew members. Based on this information, the teams must prepare and execute their flight missions. The main objective of the simulation is to highlight the challenges of sharing information within a team and of decision making under time pressure in an unfamiliar environment.
Swot Analysis of "Leadership Under High Pressure" written by Jan Hagen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Unfamiliar Participant facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership Under High Pressure case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Decision making, Government, Leadership, Leading teams and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership Under High Pressure casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership Under High Pressure
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership Under High Pressure case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Unfamiliar Participant, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Unfamiliar Participant 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 Leadership Under High Pressure can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership Under High Pressure case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Unfamiliar Participant
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Unfamiliar Participant
Strengths Leadership Under High Pressure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Unfamiliar Participant in Leadership Under High Pressure Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Unfamiliar Participant 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 Unfamiliar Participant in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership Under High Pressure has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Unfamiliar Participant to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Unfamiliar Participant
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Unfamiliar Participant does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Unfamiliar Participant 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 Unfamiliar Participant in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Unfamiliar Participant is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership Under High Pressure are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Unfamiliar Participant has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leadership Under High Pressure 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Unfamiliar Participant 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 Leadership Under High Pressure - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Unfamiliar Participant 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 Unfamiliar Participant is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Leadership Under High Pressure Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Unfamiliar Participant has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leadership Under High Pressure 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Unfamiliar Participant is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leadership Under High Pressure Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Leadership Under High Pressure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership Under High Pressure are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Leadership Under High Pressure, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Under High Pressure, is just above the industry average. Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Unfamiliar Participant 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. Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Unfamiliar Participant 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Unfamiliar Participant has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Unfamiliar Participant 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Unfamiliar Participant 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leadership Under High Pressure, in the dynamic environment Unfamiliar Participant has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Unfamiliar Participant has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Leadership Under High Pressure | 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 Leadership Under High Pressure are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Unfamiliar Participant can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Unfamiliar Participant has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Unfamiliar Participant to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership Under High Pressure case study. Unfamiliar Participant can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Unfamiliar Participant is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Leadership Under High Pressure 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Unfamiliar Participant 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. Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Unfamiliar Participant in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Unfamiliar Participant can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Unfamiliar Participant has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Leadership Under High Pressure - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Unfamiliar Participant to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Unfamiliar Participant can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Unfamiliar Participant 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 Unfamiliar Participant to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Leadership Under High Pressure External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Under High Pressure are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Unfamiliar Participant 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.
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 Unfamiliar Participant.
Increasing wage structure of Unfamiliar Participant
– 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 Unfamiliar Participant.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Leadership Under High Pressure, Unfamiliar Participant may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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. Unfamiliar Participant needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Unfamiliar Participant in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Unfamiliar Participant 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 Unfamiliar Participant in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Unfamiliar Participant is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Unfamiliar Participant 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Unfamiliar Participant 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 Leadership Under High Pressure .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Unfamiliar Participant with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Leadership Under High Pressure 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 Unfamiliar Participant needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
