Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S.
Over the next 20 years, many organizations will experience significant shortages of skilled workers. At the same time, because of longer lifespans and a gradual rise in what society has considered the traditional retirement age of 65, older workers will represent a growing proportion of the American workforce. For a variety of reasons, many of these older workers desire to continue working and, if retained and engaged, they constitute a significant labor source for mitigating the emerging shortages of skilled workers. However, many organizations are not prepared to take advantage of this demographic shift; some even generate barriers that impede the retention and engagement of older workers. In this article, we identify a variety of ways in which organizations can retain and engage older workers to meet their staffing needs and enhance organizational performance. We also discuss the relationship of these proposals to prominent theories of motivation in management.
Swot Analysis of "Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S." written by William J. Heisler, Diane Bandow includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Workers Shortages facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Developing employees, Employee retention, Human resource management, Innovation, Motivating people and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Workers Shortages, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Workers Shortages 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Workers Shortages
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 Workers Shortages
Strengths Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Workers Shortages in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Workers Shortages 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 Workers Shortages is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Workers Shortages in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Workers Shortages is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Workers Shortages to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Workers Shortages to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Workers Shortages is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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.
Ability to lead change in Communication field
– Workers Shortages 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 Workers Shortages in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Workers Shortages 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.
High brand equity
– Workers Shortages has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Workers Shortages to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Workers Shortages 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Workers Shortages is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Workers Shortages 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Workers Shortages in the sector have low bargaining power. Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Workers Shortages to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Workers Shortages 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 - Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S., it seems that the employees of Workers Shortages 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. HBR case study mentions - Workers Shortages 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Workers Shortages 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, William J. Heisler, Diane Bandow suggests that, Workers Shortages 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Workers Shortages 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Workers Shortages has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Workers Shortages is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Workers Shortages 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Workers Shortages 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Workers Shortages is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Workers Shortages needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Workers Shortages to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. | 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Workers Shortages has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Workers Shortages to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. case study. Workers Shortages can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Workers Shortages 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Workers Shortages 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 Workers Shortages to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Workers Shortages 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Workers Shortages to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Workers Shortages to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Workers Shortages 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Workers Shortages in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communication segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Workers Shortages can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Workers Shortages in the consumer business. Now Workers Shortages can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Workers Shortages is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Workers Shortages can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Workers Shortages operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Workers Shortages 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Workers Shortages 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, Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Workers Shortages with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Workers Shortages 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.
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. Workers Shortages can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S., Workers Shortages 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Workers Shortages is facing in Communication 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 Workers Shortages in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Workers Shortages business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Workers Shortages 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. Workers Shortages can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
Increasing wage structure of Workers Shortages
– 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 Workers Shortages.
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. Workers Shortages needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Workers Shortages 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Workers Shortages 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.
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 Workers Shortages.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Retaining and Engaging Older Workers: A Solution to Worker Shortages in the U.S. 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 Workers Shortages needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.