Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A)
Bill Lancaster, the new president of Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere, attempts to introduce a new performance appraisal and management development system. Black & Decker is a relatively weak player in the Eastern Hemisphere and Lancaster is convinced that he needs to significantly increase the number and quality of managers in the region. To assist in the development process, Lancaster is considering introducing a U.S.-designed Appraisal Development Plan (ADP) in the region. ADP uses 360-degree feedback from peers, subordinates, and supervisors to assist employees in building managerial skills and in increasing personal accountability. Despite a successful track record for ADP in Black & Decker North America, members of Lancaster's top management team are concerned that ADP will be a failure in the Eastern Hemisphere. They argue that the system faces huge cultural hurdles and that Lancaster is flirting with disaster if he proceeds.
Swot Analysis of "Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A)" written by Allen Morrison, J. Stewart Black includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lancaster Adp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Leadership development, Performance measurement and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lancaster Adp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lancaster Adp 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lancaster Adp
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 Lancaster Adp
Strengths Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lancaster Adp in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lancaster Adp 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lancaster Adp 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Lancaster Adp 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 Allen Morrison, J. Stewart Black 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lancaster Adp in the sector have low bargaining power. Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lancaster Adp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Lancaster Adp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lancaster Adp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Lancaster Adp 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 Lancaster Adp in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Lancaster Adp has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lancaster Adp is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Lancaster Adp is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lancaster Adp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lancaster Adp 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lancaster Adp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lancaster Adp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lancaster Adp 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 - Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A), it seems that the employees of Lancaster Adp 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Lancaster Adp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lancaster Adp 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Lancaster Adp 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lancaster Adp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) HBR case study mentions - Lancaster Adp 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lancaster Adp 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lancaster Adp 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lancaster Adp is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) | 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lancaster Adp 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, Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Lancaster Adp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Lancaster Adp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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, Lancaster Adp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lancaster Adp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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 Lancaster Adp in the consumer business. Now Lancaster Adp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Lancaster Adp 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lancaster Adp 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lancaster Adp can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lancaster Adp 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.
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. Lancaster Adp 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. Lancaster Adp 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lancaster Adp 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 Lancaster Adp 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lancaster Adp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lancaster Adp to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) case study. Lancaster Adp can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) are -
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 Lancaster Adp.
Regulatory challenges
– Lancaster Adp 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A), Lancaster Adp 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 .
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lancaster Adp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lancaster Adp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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. Lancaster Adp can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lancaster Adp is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Lancaster Adp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lancaster Adp 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) .
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. Lancaster Adp 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lancaster Adp 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lancaster Adp 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.
Increasing wage structure of Lancaster Adp
– 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 Lancaster Adp.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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 Lancaster Adp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.