Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Responding to a recently published essay, a reader pushed back against the view that managers must prepare for radical and rapid change in a digital world; he argued that this position may be overly alarmist. The discussion continues.
Swot Analysis of "Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?" written by Bruce Posner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Alarmist Overhyped facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Disruptive innovation and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Alarmist Overhyped, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Alarmist Overhyped 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Alarmist Overhyped
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 Alarmist Overhyped
Strengths Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Alarmist Overhyped in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Alarmist Overhyped in the sector have low bargaining power. Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Alarmist Overhyped to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Alarmist Overhyped
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Alarmist Overhyped does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Alarmist Overhyped 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 Alarmist Overhyped in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Alarmist Overhyped is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Alarmist Overhyped are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Alarmist Overhyped is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Alarmist Overhyped 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 Alarmist Overhyped is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Alarmist Overhyped in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Alarmist Overhyped 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Alarmist Overhyped digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Weaknesses Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Alarmist Overhyped supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Alarmist Overhyped vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Alarmist Overhyped is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Alarmist Overhyped needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Alarmist Overhyped to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, is just above the industry average. Alarmist Overhyped 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Alarmist Overhyped 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Alarmist Overhyped has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Alarmist Overhyped has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, in the dynamic environment Alarmist Overhyped has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Alarmist Overhyped has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Alarmist Overhyped is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, it seems that the employees of Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Opportunities Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? | 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Alarmist Overhyped is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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.
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. Alarmist Overhyped can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Alarmist Overhyped has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Alarmist Overhyped to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? case study. Alarmist Overhyped can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Alarmist Overhyped in the consumer business. Now Alarmist Overhyped can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Alarmist Overhyped 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 Alarmist Overhyped to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Alarmist Overhyped can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Alarmist Overhyped 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, Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Alarmist Overhyped can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Alarmist Overhyped 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Alarmist Overhyped 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Alarmist Overhyped to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Alarmist Overhyped 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. Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Threats Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Alarmist Overhyped has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Alarmist Overhyped needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Alarmist Overhyped 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? .
Increasing wage structure of Alarmist Overhyped
– 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 Alarmist Overhyped.
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 Alarmist Overhyped in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Alarmist Overhyped can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Alarmist Overhyped 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. Alarmist Overhyped can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Alarmist Overhyped is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped?, Alarmist Overhyped 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Alarmist Overhyped 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Alarmist Overhyped 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Alarmist Overhyped 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.
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. Alarmist Overhyped needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Is the Threat of Digital Disruption Overhyped? 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 Alarmist Overhyped needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
