DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good
This case depicts how DTE Energy expanded its internal momentum as a positive organization to encompass improving the broader community as well. The case opens at the end of 2015, with DTE's stock price having tripled since 2008 and the company having won Gallup's Great Work Place awards. DTE Energy CEO Gerry Anderson has articulated the vision of DTE as being a "force for growth and prosperity in the communities where we live and serve," but he wonders how he can operationalize such an expansive, intangible vision, particularly given its external focus. The case describes DTE's work with the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, detailing the characteristics of positive leadership, applying authentic leadership, connecting to purpose and calling, and DTE's Positive Organization Framework. Students will be challenged to think of additional ways that for-profit organizations could become transformational forces for positive social good. This is Case C of a three-case series which can be taught sequentially or as stand-alone cases. The cases describe the organizational transformation of energy utility company DTE Energy into a positive organization, focusing first on the personal transformation of DTE's CEO, Gerry Anderson (Case A); then on the transformation of the company (Case B) and finally on DTE Energy's advancement to the "next level" - positive social issues to improve the wider community and societal context in which the company operates (Case C).
Swot Analysis of "DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good" written by Robert Quinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dte Dte's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Social responsibility and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dte Dte's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dte Dte's 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dte Dte's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dte Dte's
Strengths DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dte Dte's in DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dte Dte's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dte Dte's 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dte Dte's 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 Dte Dte's 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Dte Dte's 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 Dte Dte's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Dte Dte's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dte Dte's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Dte Dte's 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 Robert Quinn 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dte Dte's 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
– Dte Dte's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dte Dte's in the sector have low bargaining power. DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dte Dte's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dte Dte's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dte Dte's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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.
Weaknesses DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good, is just above the industry average. Dte Dte's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dte Dte's 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 - DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dte Dte's 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 Dte Dte's 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Dte Dte's has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Dte Dte's even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Need for greater diversity
– Dte Dte's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 Dte Dte's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dte Dte's 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dte Dte's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dte Dte's 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dte Dte's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Dte Dte's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dte Dte's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good | 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dte Dte's 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, DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Dte Dte's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dte Dte's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dte Dte's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dte Dte's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dte Dte's can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dte Dte's 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 Organizational Development segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Dte Dte's 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. Dte Dte's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dte Dte's 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.
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. Dte Dte's 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 Dte Dte's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Dte Dte's 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
– Dte Dte's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dte Dte's to increase its market reach. Dte Dte's will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good are -
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dte Dte's in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dte Dte's 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dte Dte's is facing in Organizational Development 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. Dte Dte's 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.
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. Dte Dte's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Dte Dte's in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dte Dte's 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dte Dte's 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Dte Dte's high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Dte Dte's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Dte Dte's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Dte Dte's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 DTE Energy (C): A Positive Organization and a Force for Social Good 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 Dte Dte's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.