Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A)
This case series deals with an executive education institution and its entrepreneurial-minded leader on the 25th anniversary of the institution. Central to developing a strategy for the future is a decision about leadership capacities that need to be developed for the school's participants, and what kind of education will be needed. The central figure of the case believes strongly in parallels between arts and management and in innovative experiences which inspire leadership. How far to go with these relative to the usual "boiler-plate" of leadership teaching is major feature of these cases. The A case takes the perspective of the school's president. The B case takes the multiple perspectives of eight contrasting stakeholders. The C case takes the perspective of the Board. The D case brings the participant up to date on what actually happened.
Swot Analysis of "Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A)" written by Derek Abell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Leadership Takes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurship, Financial analysis, Leadership, Leadership development, Strategy, Succession planning and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Leadership Takes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Leadership Takes 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Leadership Takes
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Leadership Takes
Strengths Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Leadership Takes in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Leadership Takes has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Leadership Takes 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.
Learning organization
- Leadership Takes 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 Leadership Takes is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Leadership Takes 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Leadership Takes to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Leadership Takes to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Leadership Takes 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 Leadership Takes in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Leadership Takes has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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.
Organizational Resilience of Leadership Takes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Leadership Takes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Leadership Takes is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Leadership Takes 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.
Analytics focus
– Leadership Takes 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 Derek Abell 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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.
High brand equity
– Leadership Takes has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Leadership Takes to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Leadership Takes 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) HBR case study mentions - Leadership Takes 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Leadership Takes has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A), in the dynamic environment Leadership Takes has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Leadership Takes has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Leadership Takes 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Leadership Takes 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 - Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A), it seems that the employees of Leadership Takes 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, Leadership Takes 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. Leadership Takes 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Derek Abell suggests that, Leadership Takes 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Leadership Takes is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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.
Opportunities Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) 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 Leadership Takes in the consumer business. Now Leadership Takes can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Leadership Takes can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Leadership Takes 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Leadership Takes 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Leadership Takes has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Leadership Takes to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) case study. Leadership Takes can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Leadership Takes 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
– Leadership Takes 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Leadership Takes to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Leadership Takes can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Leadership Takes 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. Leadership Takes 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Leadership Takes to increase its market reach. Leadership Takes 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Leadership Takes can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Leadership Takes operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Leadership Takes can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Leadership Takes in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) 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 Leadership Takes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Leadership Takes 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 Leadership Takes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Leadership Takes business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Leadership Takes 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Leadership Takes 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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (A) .
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. Leadership Takes needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Leadership Takes 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Leadership Takes can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Leadership Takes 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.
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.
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 Leadership Takes.
Environmental challenges
– Leadership Takes 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. Leadership Takes can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Danica Purg: Entrepreneurial Leadership In Shaping Leadership Development (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 Leadership Takes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.