CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement
Excerpts of videotaped class visits and an interview with former Cisco CEO John Chambers about Cisco's CEO succession planning process. Topics include Chambers' reflections on the process; the roles of the incumbent CEO, board of directors, executive search, and the executive chairman; internal vs. external CEOs; rotations and development; managing turnover; and organizational culture. The video is divided into several related sections. The first video segment, "Reflections on the Process," contains Chambers' general reflections on Cisco's entire succession process. The instructor can either show just the first video segment to explore a wide range of topics, or select several of the subsequent sections to focus on specific themes. Designed to accompany the "CEO Succession at Cisco" case series (417-031; 417-032; 417-033) and "Cisco Systems: In Search of the Next CEO" (416-027).
Swot Analysis of "CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement" written by Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cisco 417 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Human resource management, Leading teams, Organizational culture, Strategy, Succession planning, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cisco 417, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cisco 417 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cisco 417
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 Cisco 417
Strengths CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cisco 417 in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cisco 417 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cisco 417 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cisco 417 in the sector have low bargaining power. CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cisco 417 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Cisco 417 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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.
Training and development
– Cisco 417 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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.
Analytics focus
– Cisco 417 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 Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cisco 417 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement - 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 lead change in Organizational Development field
– Cisco 417 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 Cisco 417 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Cisco 417 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 Cisco 417 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Cisco 417 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cisco 417 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cisco 417 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cisco 417
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cisco 417 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng suggests that, Cisco 417 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cisco 417, firm in the HBR case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement, is just above the industry average. Cisco 417 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cisco 417 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Cisco 417 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cisco 417 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 Cisco 417 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cisco 417 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, Cisco 417 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cisco 417 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Cisco 417 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cisco 417 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.
Opportunities CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement | 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cisco 417 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Cisco 417 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cisco 417 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cisco 417 to increase its market reach. Cisco 417 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cisco 417 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, CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cisco 417 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cisco 417 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement case study. Cisco 417 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cisco 417 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cisco 417 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cisco 417 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 Cisco 417 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cisco 417 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.
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. Cisco 417 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. Cisco 417 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cisco 417 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Cisco 417 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Threats CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement are -
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 Cisco 417 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cisco 417 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cisco 417 needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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 Cisco 417 in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Cisco 417 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Cisco 417 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cisco 417 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, Cisco 417 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement .
Increasing wage structure of Cisco 417
– 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 Cisco 417.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cisco 417 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 Cisco 417 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.
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 Cisco 417.
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. Cisco 417 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 CEO Succession at Cisco, Video Supplement 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 Cisco 417 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.