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 - – increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, 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 -
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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lancaster Adp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lancaster Adp 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lancaster Adp is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lancaster Adp in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Lancaster Adp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lancaster Adp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lancaster Adp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Lancaster Adp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lancaster Adp to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lancaster Adp 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. Lancaster Adp 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.
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.
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.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lancaster Adp, firm in the HBR case study Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Allen Morrison, J. Stewart Black suggests that, Lancaster Adp 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.
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 -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lancaster Adp 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
– 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lancaster Adp 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 Lancaster Adp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lancaster Adp to increase its market reach. Lancaster Adp 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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lancaster Adp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lancaster Adp 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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lancaster Adp 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 Black & Decker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lancaster Adp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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 -
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lancaster Adp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lancaster Adp 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 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.
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 Lancaster Adp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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) .
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.
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 Lancaster Adp in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Lancaster Adp 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. Lancaster Adp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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.
