John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co.
John Rogers Jr., the founder and CEO of Ariel Investments, an enormously successful finance firm with $12 billion of invested capital, is one of the few African Americans in the asset management industry. As one of the high profile leaders in the black business community, John has decided to encourage Fortune 500 companies and major foundations to increase the volume of business that they do with black and other minority-owned companies. His encouragement comes in the form of public criticism of these organizations. He challenges them to stop paying "lip service" to inclusion, diversity, and fair business opportunity and sincerely commit to these ideals through action and results. A member of John's Board of Directors has advised him to cease his leadership of this effort because it could be detrimental to Ariel Investments. Is the board member right? Is John being reckless? Is there a model that can be created to determine if and when John and other leaders should publicly express their opinions?
Swot Analysis of "John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co." written by Steven Rogers, Greg White includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ariel John facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Disruptive innovation, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Financial analysis, Financial management, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, increasing energy prices,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ariel John, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ariel John 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ariel John
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ariel John
Strengths John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ariel John in John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ariel John 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ariel John 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ariel John has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ariel John 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ariel John
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ariel John does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ariel John in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ariel John is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Ariel John has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ariel John to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Ariel John has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ariel John to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ariel John to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ariel John in the sector have low bargaining power. John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ariel John to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ariel John 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.
Weaknesses John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Ariel John products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ariel John needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., in the dynamic environment Ariel John has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ariel John has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 Ariel John has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., it seems that the employees of Ariel John 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ariel John is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Ariel John supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ariel John vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 Ariel John 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ariel John is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Ariel John needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ariel John to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ariel John 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. Ariel John 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. HBR case study mentions - Ariel John 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.
Opportunities John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. | 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ariel John 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ariel John 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 Ariel John to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ariel John 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ariel John can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Ariel John 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ariel John can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ariel John 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ariel John to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Ariel John can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ariel John 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.
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. Ariel John can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ariel John can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ariel John 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, John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ariel John is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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.
Threats John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co., Ariel John may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Increasing wage structure of Ariel John
– 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 Ariel John.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ariel John 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ariel John can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ariel John has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ariel John needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Ariel John.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ariel John 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. .
Regulatory challenges
– Ariel John 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Ariel John 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. Ariel John can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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. Ariel John 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. Ariel John needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ariel John is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 John Rogers, Jr. - Ariel Investments Co. 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 Ariel John needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
