The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye
When a career public employee in a research division of the US Forest Service gets a call from a lobbyist for a coalition of environmental advocacy groups, he finds himself confronting an opportunity of which he's not sure it's right to avail himself. The lobbyist-well-versed in the specific research being undertaken by the department in which "Sammy Sockeye" works, and well aware of budget cuts affecting the quality and scope of such work-offers to "help." Her coalition would, if he agrees, exert public pressure in order to force the soon-to-be-announced federal budget to include an increase in the budget of Sammy's department. The fact that Sammy himself believes very much that the public would be better served by such a budget increase complicates the already difficult question.
Swot Analysis of "The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye" written by Dan H. Fenn Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sammy Sockeye facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sammy Sockeye, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sammy Sockeye operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sammy Sockeye
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sammy Sockeye
Strengths The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sammy Sockeye in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sammy Sockeye in the sector have low bargaining power. The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sammy Sockeye to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sammy Sockeye has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye - 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 Global Business field
– Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sammy Sockeye in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sammy Sockeye has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sammy Sockeye is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sammy Sockeye has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sammy Sockeye 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sammy Sockeye
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sammy Sockeye does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Sammy Sockeye 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
– Sammy Sockeye is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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 The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Dan H. Fenn Jr. suggests that, Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sammy Sockeye vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sammy Sockeye 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sammy Sockeye 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sammy Sockeye needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sammy Sockeye is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sammy Sockeye is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Sammy Sockeye needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sammy Sockeye to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sammy Sockeye has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye, is just above the industry average. Sammy Sockeye 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sammy Sockeye has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sammy Sockeye in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sammy Sockeye to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sammy Sockeye has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sammy Sockeye to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye case study. Sammy Sockeye can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sammy Sockeye 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, The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sammy Sockeye 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. Sammy Sockeye 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
– Sammy Sockeye has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sammy Sockeye to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sammy Sockeye to increase its market reach. Sammy Sockeye 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sammy Sockeye can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
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 Sammy Sockeye 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sammy Sockeye is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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.
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. Sammy Sockeye can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sammy Sockeye 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.
Threats The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye are -
Increasing wage structure of Sammy Sockeye
– 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 Sammy Sockeye.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye, Sammy Sockeye may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Regulatory challenges
– Sammy Sockeye 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 Global Business industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sammy Sockeye 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.
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. Sammy Sockeye 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.
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 Sammy Sockeye business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Sammy Sockeye 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. Sammy Sockeye can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business 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 Sammy Sockeye.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sammy Sockeye in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sammy Sockeye is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Sammy Sockeye in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sammy Sockeye 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of The Ad Hoc Conference and Sammy Sockeye 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 Sammy Sockeye needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
