Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee
On September 2003, Richard Grasso stepped down as chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, following weeks of intense public criticism over the size of his $190 million compensation package. As chairman of the committee that oversaw Grasso's payout, Ken Langone believed firmly that the payment was fair and reasonable. However, NYSE members, government regulators, and the media alike blamed the board for its oversight and viewed Langone as the mastermind behind Grasso's huge payout. Calls to oust Langone as director from all his board positions came within days of Grasso's resignation. This case follows immediate backlash against Langone over his role at the NYSE as well as the connection this scandal had on his eventual departure from General Electric's board of directors. Should Langone have resigned from GE's board?
Swot Analysis of "Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee" written by Suraj Srinivasan, Lizzie Gomez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Langone Grasso's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Change management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization,
wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Langone Grasso's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Langone Grasso's 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Langone Grasso's
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 Langone Grasso's
Strengths Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Langone Grasso's in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Langone Grasso's 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 Langone Grasso's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Langone Grasso's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Langone Grasso's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Langone Grasso's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Strong track record of project management
– Langone Grasso's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Langone Grasso's 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Langone Grasso's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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.
Learning organization
- Langone Grasso's 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 Langone Grasso's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Langone Grasso's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Langone Grasso's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Langone Grasso's in the sector have low bargaining power. Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Langone Grasso's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Langone Grasso's 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 Suraj Srinivasan, Lizzie Gomez 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Langone Grasso's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Langone Grasso's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Langone Grasso's 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Langone Grasso's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Langone Grasso's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Langone Grasso's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee, is just above the industry average. Langone Grasso's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Langone Grasso's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Langone Grasso's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee HBR case study mentions - Langone Grasso's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Langone Grasso's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee, it seems that the employees of Langone Grasso's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Langone Grasso's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Suraj Srinivasan, Lizzie Gomez suggests that, Langone Grasso's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee, in the dynamic environment Langone Grasso's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Langone Grasso's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Langone Grasso's 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.
Opportunities Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee | 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Langone Grasso's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Langone Grasso's to increase its market reach. Langone Grasso's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Langone Grasso's 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Langone Grasso's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Langone Grasso's 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
– Langone Grasso's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Langone Grasso's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Langone Grasso's 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Langone Grasso's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Langone Grasso's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Langone Grasso's 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.
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. Langone Grasso's 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. Langone Grasso's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Langone Grasso's 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Langone Grasso's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee are -
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. Langone Grasso's 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Langone Grasso's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Langone Grasso's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee, Langone Grasso's 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Langone Grasso's 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Langone Grasso's 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.
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. Langone Grasso's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Langone Grasso's 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. Langone Grasso's 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 Langone Grasso's 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.
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. Langone Grasso's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Langone Grasso's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Langone Grasso's 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee 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 Langone Grasso's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.