The Whistleblower at International Game Technology SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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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?
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 - – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
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 -
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Whistleblower Mayhem 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 Whistleblower Mayhem in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Whistleblower Mayhem is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Whistleblower Mayhem digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Whistleblower Mayhem 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 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Whistleblower at International Game Technology 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 Whistleblower Mayhem has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Whistleblower Mayhem 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 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Whistleblower Mayhem is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Whistleblower at International Game Technology, is just above the industry average. Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
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 -
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Whistleblower Mayhem in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Whistleblower Mayhem can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Whistleblower Mayhem can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Whistleblower Mayhem can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Whistleblower Mayhem operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
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.
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 -
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 Whistleblower Mayhem.
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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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 .
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. Whistleblower Mayhem needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Whistleblower Mayhem in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Whistleblower Mayhem has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Whistleblower Mayhem needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
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.
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.
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. Whistleblower Mayhem 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.
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.