Case Study Description of Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7)
This is a Darden case study.Puts the student in the shoes of the recently appointed treasurer of Polaroid Corporation, who must consider several matters concerning the firm's debt policy. An immediate concern is the company's outstanding $150 million 7.25% notes, due to mature in several months. Although investment bankers interested in doing business with Polaroid have been trying to present proposals for refunding the issue, the new treasurer believes that any refunding decision should be part of a larger review of the firm's financial policies. Accordingly, he has undertaken a review of the firm's overall debt policy, focusing primarily on the mix of debt and equity and on the maturity structure of the debt. Asks students to consider how much flexibility Polaroid's business will require in future years and to pick a target debt ratio that provides the necessary flexibility. Students must evaluate, in addition to internal demands for funds, the role of bond ratings and investment-grade status in maintaining ongoing access to capital markets.
Swot Analysis of "Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7)" written by Robert F. Bruner, Susan Chaplinsky includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Polaroid Debt facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Reorganization and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Polaroid Debt, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Polaroid Debt 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Polaroid Debt
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 Polaroid Debt
Strengths Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Polaroid Debt in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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.
Learning organization
- Polaroid Debt 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 Polaroid Debt is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Polaroid Debt has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Polaroid Debt to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Polaroid Debt 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Polaroid Debt is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Polaroid Debt is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Polaroid Debt is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Robert F. Bruner, Susan Chaplinsky can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Polaroid Debt 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Polaroid Debt 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 Polaroid Debt in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Polaroid Debt
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Polaroid Debt does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Polaroid Debt to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Polaroid Debt to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Polaroid Debt is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Polaroid Debt 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, Polaroid Debt is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), is just above the industry average. Polaroid Debt 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) HBR case study mentions - Polaroid Debt 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), it seems that the employees of Polaroid Debt 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Polaroid Debt has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Debt 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), in the dynamic environment Polaroid Debt has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Polaroid Debt has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert F. Bruner, Susan Chaplinsky suggests that, Polaroid Debt 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.
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 Polaroid Debt supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Polaroid Debt vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) | 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) are -
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. Polaroid Debt 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. Polaroid Debt 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.
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 Polaroid Debt 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Polaroid Debt 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Polaroid Debt 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Polaroid Debt can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Polaroid Debt 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Polaroid Debt is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Polaroid Debt can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Polaroid Debt can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Polaroid Debt can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Polaroid Debt can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Polaroid Debt operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Polaroid Debt 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, Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Polaroid Debt 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.
Threats Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) are -
Environmental challenges
– Polaroid Debt 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. Polaroid Debt can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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 Polaroid Debt.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Polaroid Debt 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.
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 Polaroid Debt business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7), Polaroid Debt 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Polaroid Debt 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.
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.
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. Polaroid Debt needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Polaroid Debt 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Polaroid Debt is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Polaroid Debt
– 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 Polaroid Debt.
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. Polaroid Debt can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Corp., 1996 (v. 1.7) 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 Polaroid Debt needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.