The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process
The effective utilization of knowledge has become an important part of how firms gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, the recruitment, search, and selection processes used to obtain workers who would develop and deploy that knowledge have not materially changed for many years, with human resources (HR) frequently automating legacy procedures. We believe that the hiring processes for exceptional knowledge workers, whom we call knowledge stars, must adapt to the current business environment. Using the framework of architectural innovation, we propose that HR's recruitment of knowledge stars should begin before specific jobs are announced, should be done in partnership with line managers, and should be done in coordination with implementation of other workplace innovations such as the development of communities of practice and participative management. We conclude by discussing how changes in the search processes for knowledge stars fit in context with some other ongoing challenges for HR personnel.
Swot Analysis of "The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process" written by R.H. Hamilton, H. Kristl Davison includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Knowledge Stars facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Personnel policies, Talent management and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Knowledge Stars, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Knowledge Stars 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Knowledge Stars
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 Knowledge Stars
Strengths The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Knowledge Stars in The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Knowledge Stars digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Knowledge Stars 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Knowledge Stars is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Knowledge Stars to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Knowledge Stars to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Knowledge Stars 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 R.H. Hamilton, H. Kristl Davison can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Knowledge Stars 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Knowledge Stars 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Knowledge Stars in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Knowledge Stars
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Knowledge Stars does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Knowledge Stars is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Knowledge Stars is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Knowledge Stars in the sector have low bargaining power. The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Knowledge Stars to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Knowledge Stars 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Knowledge Stars 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 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 Knowledge Stars supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Knowledge Stars vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Knowledge Stars is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Knowledge Stars needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Knowledge Stars to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Knowledge Stars products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Knowledge Stars needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Knowledge Stars, firm in the HBR case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Knowledge Stars is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Knowledge Stars 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process, it seems that the employees of Knowledge Stars 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Knowledge Stars is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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
– Knowledge Stars 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.
Opportunities The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process | 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Knowledge Stars 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
– Knowledge Stars 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 The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Knowledge Stars to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Knowledge Stars can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Knowledge Stars 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 Knowledge Stars to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Communication industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Knowledge Stars 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. Knowledge Stars 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Knowledge Stars 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Knowledge Stars can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Knowledge Stars operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Knowledge Stars can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communication 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Knowledge Stars can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Knowledge Stars 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.
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. Knowledge Stars can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Knowledge Stars 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Knowledge Stars 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.
Threats The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Knowledge Stars in the Communication industry. The Communication 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Knowledge Stars with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Knowledge Stars is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Knowledge Stars 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.
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 Knowledge Stars business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process, Knowledge Stars may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communication .
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 Knowledge Stars.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Knowledge Stars 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.
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 Knowledge Stars in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Knowledge Stars can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Knowledge Stars
– 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 Knowledge Stars.
Environmental challenges
– Knowledge Stars 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. Knowledge Stars can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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 Search for Skills: Knowledge Stars and Innovation in the Hiring Process 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 Knowledge Stars needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.