Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively
It's common practice to develop a handful of strategic priorities to focus strategy -but formulated correctly, they're also useful communication tools for both internal and external stakeholders. Clear, credible priorities linked to explicit metrics offer a framework for assessing progress toward the company's goals, in a way that abstractions like vision or mission cannot.
Authors :: Donald N. Sull, Stefano Turconi, Charles Sull
Swot Analysis of "Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively" written by Donald N. Sull, Stefano Turconi, Charles Sull includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Priorities Abstractions facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Priorities Abstractions, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Priorities Abstractions 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Priorities Abstractions
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Priorities Abstractions
Strengths Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Priorities Abstractions in Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Priorities Abstractions 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 Priorities Abstractions in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Priorities Abstractions 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Priorities Abstractions has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Priorities Abstractions 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.
Analytics focus
– Priorities Abstractions 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 Donald N. Sull, Stefano Turconi, Charles Sull 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Priorities Abstractions in the sector have low bargaining power. Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Priorities Abstractions to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Priorities Abstractions has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Priorities Abstractions 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Priorities Abstractions
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Priorities Abstractions does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Priorities Abstractions is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Priorities Abstractions has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Priorities Abstractions to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Priorities Abstractions digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Priorities Abstractions 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Priorities Abstractions is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Priorities Abstractions 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Priorities Abstractions 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Donald N. Sull, Stefano Turconi, Charles Sull suggests that, Priorities Abstractions 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Priorities Abstractions 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively, is just above the industry average. Priorities Abstractions 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Priorities Abstractions has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Priorities Abstractions has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Priorities Abstractions, firm in the HBR case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Priorities Abstractions is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Priorities Abstractions 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively | 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively are -
Loyalty marketing
– Priorities Abstractions 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Priorities Abstractions 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Priorities Abstractions to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Priorities Abstractions 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Priorities Abstractions 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Priorities Abstractions can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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.
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 Priorities Abstractions in the consumer business. Now Priorities Abstractions 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, Priorities Abstractions 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Priorities Abstractions is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Priorities Abstractions to increase its market reach. Priorities Abstractions 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.
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 Priorities Abstractions 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Priorities Abstractions can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Priorities Abstractions 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 Priorities Abstractions to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Priorities Abstractions can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively, Priorities Abstractions may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Priorities Abstractions with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Priorities Abstractions has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Priorities Abstractions needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Priorities Abstractions 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Priorities Abstractions in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Priorities Abstractions needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Priorities Abstractions is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Priorities Abstractions 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.
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.
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 Priorities Abstractions in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Priorities Abstractions 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Priorities Abstractions can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Six Steps to Communicating Strategic Priorities Effectively 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 Priorities Abstractions needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.