Swot Analysis of "Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd." written by Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Globalizing Recruit facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, 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, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Globalizing Recruit, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Globalizing Recruit
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 Globalizing Recruit
Strengths Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Globalizing Recruit in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Globalizing Recruit in the sector have low bargaining power. Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Globalizing Recruit to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Globalizing Recruit to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Globalizing Recruit to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Recruit is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Globalizing Recruit is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Globalizing Recruit is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Globalizing Recruit 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Globalizing Recruit is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Globalizing Recruit has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Globalizing Recruit to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Recruit in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Globalizing Recruit digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Globalizing Recruit 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Globalizing Recruit 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.
Weaknesses Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Recruit supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Globalizing Recruit vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Globalizing Recruit has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Globalizing Recruit is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Globalizing Recruit 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. HBR case study mentions - Globalizing Recruit takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Globalizing Recruit is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Globalizing Recruit needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Globalizing Recruit to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Globalizing Recruit 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., in the dynamic environment Globalizing Recruit has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Globalizing Recruit has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Globalizing Recruit 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Globalizing Recruit, firm in the HBR case study Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta suggests that, Globalizing Recruit 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.
Opportunities Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. | 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. are -
Loyalty marketing
– Globalizing Recruit 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.
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 Globalizing Recruit 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Globalizing Recruit 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Globalizing Recruit can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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 Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Globalizing Recruit can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Globalizing Recruit 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. Globalizing Recruit 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Globalizing Recruit can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Globalizing Recruit 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.
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 Globalizing Recruit in the consumer business. Now Globalizing Recruit can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Globalizing Recruit can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Recruit 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
– Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Globalizing Recruit to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Recruit to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. are -
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. Globalizing Recruit needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Globalizing Recruit business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Globalizing Recruit.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Globalizing Recruit is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Globalizing Recruit in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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, Globalizing Recruit 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. .
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. Globalizing Recruit 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Globalizing Recruit has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Globalizing Recruit 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., Globalizing Recruit 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Globalizing Recruit 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.
Increasing wage structure of Globalizing Recruit
– 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 Globalizing Recruit.
Regulatory challenges
– Globalizing Recruit 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. 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 Globalizing Recruit needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
