Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective
This case is about the Sponsorship Scandal that plagued Canada's federal government in the mid-1990s. The case is told in the words of the federal government bureaucrat who blew the whistle about the corruption. The way federal civil servants dealt with the whistleblower's revelations is examined.
Authors :: Allan Cutler, Ruth McKay, Francois Brouard
Swot Analysis of "Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective" written by Allan Cutler, Ruth McKay, Francois Brouard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Whistleblower's Federal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Leadership and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Whistleblower's Federal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Whistleblower's Federal 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Whistleblower's Federal
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 Whistleblower's Federal
Strengths Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Whistleblower's Federal in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Whistleblower's Federal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Whistleblower's Federal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Whistleblower's Federal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Whistleblower's Federal has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Whistleblower's Federal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Whistleblower's Federal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Whistleblower's Federal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Whistleblower's Federal 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 Allan Cutler, Ruth McKay, Francois Brouard 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Whistleblower's Federal 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 Whistleblower's Federal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Whistleblower's Federal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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
- Whistleblower's Federal 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 Whistleblower's Federal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Whistleblower's Federal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Whistleblower's Federal 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective are -
Need for greater diversity
– Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Whistleblower's Federal is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Whistleblower's Federal 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Allan Cutler, Ruth McKay, Francois Brouard suggests that, Whistleblower's Federal 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 Whistleblower's Federal, firm in the HBR case study Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective HBR case study mentions - Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Whistleblower's Federal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Whistleblower's Federal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Whistleblower's Federal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Whistleblower's Federal has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Whistleblower's Federal even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective | 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Whistleblower's Federal 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 Global Business segment.
Developing new processes and practices
– Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Whistleblower's Federal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Whistleblower's Federal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Whistleblower's Federal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Whistleblower's Federal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Whistleblower's Federal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Whistleblower's Federal in the consumer business. Now Whistleblower's Federal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Whistleblower's Federal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Whistleblower's Federal 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 Whistleblower's Federal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Whistleblower's Federal 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.
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. Whistleblower's Federal 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. Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Whistleblower's Federal 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, Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Whistleblower's Federal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Whistleblower's Federal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Whistleblower's Federal 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 Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Environmental challenges
– Whistleblower's Federal 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. Whistleblower's Federal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Whistleblower's Federal 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective, Whistleblower's Federal 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 .
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. Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Whistleblower's Federal is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Whistleblower's Federal 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Whistleblower's Federal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Canadian Sponsorship Scandal: The Whistleblower's Perspective 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 Whistleblower's Federal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
