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The Whistleblower at International Game Technology SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology


Robert Mayhem, a senior manager at International Game Technology, had filed a whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company has misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem's report involved IGT's practice of refurbishing used parts in one of its reporting segments and then transferring those parts to another reporting segment. Mayhem indicated that IGT's method of determining the costs of the refurbished parts was inaccurate and resulted in profits being shifted from one segment to another. Prior to his report to the SEC, Mayhem had reported his concerns to his managers and to the company's internal compliance hotline. At about the same time, IGT announced that it had accepted an offer to be acquired by another large player in the industry which would soon move its incorporation out of the U.S. and into the U.K. What should IGT do regarding the whistleblower and his report?

Authors :: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, James Weber

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Ethics, Government, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Whistleblower at International Game Technology" written by Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, James Weber includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Whistleblower Mayhem facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Government and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Whistleblower at International Game Technology casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Whistleblower Mayhem, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Whistleblower Mayhem operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Whistleblower Mayhem
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Whistleblower Mayhem




Strengths The Whistleblower at International Game Technology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Whistleblower Mayhem in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology Harvard Business Review case study are -

Training and development

– Whistleblower Mayhem has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Whistleblower Mayhem has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Whistleblower Mayhem has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The Whistleblower at International Game Technology 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Whistleblower Mayhem in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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 The Whistleblower at International Game Technology - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Whistleblower Mayhem is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Whistleblower at International Game Technology are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Organizational Resilience of Whistleblower Mayhem

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Whistleblower Mayhem does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

High brand equity

– Whistleblower Mayhem has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Whistleblower Mayhem to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Whistleblower Mayhem in the sector have low bargaining power. The Whistleblower at International Game Technology has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Whistleblower Mayhem to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Learning organization

- Whistleblower Mayhem 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 Whistleblower Mayhem is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Whistleblower Mayhem is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Whistleblower at International Game Technology Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– The Whistleblower at International Game Technology firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Whistleblower Mayhem to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Whistleblower Mayhem to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.






Weaknesses The Whistleblower at International Game Technology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology are -

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology, it seems that the employees of Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case The Whistleblower at International Game Technology can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Whistleblower Mayhem is planning to shift buying processes online.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Whistleblower Mayhem 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 - The Whistleblower at International Game Technology should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, James Weber suggests that, Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Whistleblower Mayhem, firm in the HBR case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology, in the dynamic environment Whistleblower Mayhem has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Whistleblower Mayhem has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

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 Whistleblower Mayhem supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Whistleblower at International Game Technology, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Whistleblower Mayhem vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Lack of clear differentiation of Whistleblower Mayhem products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Whistleblower Mayhem needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Whistleblower Mayhem is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Whistleblower Mayhem needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Whistleblower Mayhem to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.




Opportunities The Whistleblower at International Game Technology | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology are -

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. Whistleblower Mayhem can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Whistleblower Mayhem can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Whistleblower Mayhem to increase its market reach. Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

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 Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

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 Whistleblower Mayhem in the consumer business. Now Whistleblower Mayhem can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Whistleblower Mayhem can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Loyalty marketing

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Whistleblower Mayhem has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Whistleblower Mayhem to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Whistleblower Mayhem has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Whistleblower Mayhem to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Whistleblower at International Game Technology case study. Whistleblower Mayhem can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Whistleblower Mayhem is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Whistleblower at International Game Technology 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Whistleblower Mayhem 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. Whistleblower Mayhem 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 The Whistleblower at International Game Technology External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

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 Whistleblower Mayhem in the Finance & Accounting 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology, Whistleblower Mayhem may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Whistleblower Mayhem is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Whistleblower Mayhem 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 The Whistleblower at International Game Technology .

Increasing wage structure of Whistleblower Mayhem

– 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 Whistleblower Mayhem.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Whistleblower Mayhem can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

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 Whistleblower Mayhem business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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.

Environmental challenges

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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. Whistleblower Mayhem can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Whistleblower Mayhem 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of The Whistleblower at International Game Technology 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 Whistleblower Mayhem needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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