Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools
This case is accompanied by a Video Short that can be shown in class or included in a digital coursepack. Instructors should consider the timing of making the video available to students, as it may reveal key case details.The case opens in 2007, when the Washington, D.C. public school system was failing. Parents, politicians, labor unions and activists all agreed that reform was necessary due to abysmal student test scores, attendance records and safety concerns. But stakeholders disagreed sharply on how to achieve their shared goal of providing a good education to the city's children. Reformers wanted to close failing schools, parents wanted to choose where their children attended school, and the teachers' union wanted more compensation for teachers. Michelle Rhee, a former teacher and "outsider," was hired by Mayor Adrian Fenty to institute sweeping and speedy reforms. As Chancellor, Rhee came under fire by teachers and their union, parents and the public for her swift move to close underperforming schools and, controversially, to fire teachers rated as "ineffective" by IMPACT, a value-added evaluation system designed to isolate each teacher's unique contribution to their student's educational achievement based on student test scores. The case discusses the steps Rhee took to reform the D.C. public schools and the support and opposition she encountered along the way, culminating with her November 2010 resignation. Case number 1958
Swot Analysis of "Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools" written by Laura Winig, Patricia Garcia-Rios includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rhee Teachers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Decision making, Government, Innovation, Leadership and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rhee Teachers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rhee Teachers 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rhee Teachers
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 Rhee Teachers
Strengths Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rhee Teachers in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rhee Teachers in the sector have low bargaining power. Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rhee Teachers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Rhee Teachers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rhee Teachers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rhee Teachers 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rhee Teachers 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rhee Teachers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rhee Teachers 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.
Analytics focus
– Rhee Teachers 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 Laura Winig, Patricia Garcia-Rios 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Rhee Teachers 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 lead change in Global Business field
– Rhee Teachers 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 Rhee Teachers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Rhee Teachers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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.
Learning organization
- Rhee Teachers 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 Rhee Teachers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rhee Teachers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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.
Weaknesses Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rhee Teachers is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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, Rhee Teachers 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. Rhee Teachers 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Rhee Teachers 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Rhee Teachers products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rhee Teachers needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools, is just above the industry average. Rhee Teachers 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools HBR case study mentions - Rhee Teachers 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rhee Teachers is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Rhee Teachers 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Rhee Teachers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Rhee Teachers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rhee Teachers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rhee Teachers 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.
Opportunities Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools | 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools are -
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 Rhee Teachers in the consumer business. Now Rhee Teachers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rhee Teachers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rhee Teachers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools case study. Rhee Teachers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rhee Teachers 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rhee Teachers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Rhee Teachers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rhee Teachers 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rhee Teachers 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rhee Teachers 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, Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Rhee Teachers 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rhee Teachers to increase its market reach. Rhee Teachers will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rhee Teachers 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
– Rhee Teachers 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.
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. Rhee Teachers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Rhee Teachers 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.
Threats Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools are -
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 Rhee Teachers in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Rhee Teachers 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools, Rhee Teachers 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Rhee Teachers
– 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 Rhee Teachers.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rhee Teachers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rhee Teachers 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.
Environmental challenges
– Rhee Teachers 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. Rhee Teachers 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, Rhee Teachers 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools .
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. Rhee Teachers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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 Rhee Teachers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Rhee Teachers 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Rhee Teachers 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Michelle Rhee's IMPACT on the Washington D.C. Public Schools 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 Rhee Teachers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
