The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.The Posse Foundation selected high-potential, non-traditional students to attend selective colleges as part of a group of 10 from the same city. The organization had developed an ambitious growth plan, but because it focused on the most selective colleges, the pool of available university partners was somewhat limited. Some members of Posse's board wondered if the organization should broaden the criteria for potential partner colleges in order to more quickly grow the number of students it served. If Posse defined its impact as helping as many non-traditional students as possible enter and graduate from college, expanding the list of acceptable partners might make sense. But CEO Deborah Bial believed that selective colleges provided posse scholars with more than just superior career opportunities - they were a gateway to influential leadership positions and powerful networks. If Posse defined its impact as changing the demographic makeup of the leadership of professions such as law, business, medicine, and education, then perhaps it should continue to target only the most selective colleges. The case provides an opportunity for readers in the CEO's shoes and weigh the consequences of each approach.

Authors :: Stacey Childress, Andrea Alexander

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Growth strategy, Joint ventures, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy" written by Stacey Childress, Andrea Alexander includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Posse Colleges facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Joint ventures, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Posse Colleges, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Posse Colleges 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Posse Colleges
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 Posse Colleges

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Strengths The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Posse Colleges in The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Posse Colleges in the sector have low bargaining power. The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Posse Colleges to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Analytics focus

– Posse Colleges 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 Stacey Childress, Andrea Alexander 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Posse Colleges are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field

– Posse Colleges 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 Posse Colleges in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Posse Colleges 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry

– The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Posse Colleges to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Posse Colleges to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Posse Colleges is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Posse Colleges 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

– Posse Colleges is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High brand equity

– Posse Colleges has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Posse Colleges to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Posse Colleges digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Posse Colleges 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.

Training and development

– Posse Colleges has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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.

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Weaknesses The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Posse Colleges, firm in the HBR case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stacey Childress, Andrea Alexander suggests that, Posse Colleges 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Posse Colleges 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Posse Colleges 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 cash cycle compare to competitors

Posse Colleges has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy, is just above the industry average. Posse Colleges 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Posse Colleges has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy, in the dynamic environment Posse Colleges has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Posse Colleges has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Posse Colleges is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Posse Colleges 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 Posse Colleges 's lucrative customers.

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Opportunities The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy | 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy are -

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. Posse Colleges 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. Posse Colleges 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.

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 Posse Colleges in the consumer business. Now Posse Colleges can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Posse Colleges can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Posse Colleges operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Posse Colleges can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Posse Colleges 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 Posse Colleges to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Posse Colleges has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Posse Colleges to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy case study. Posse Colleges can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Posse Colleges to increase its market reach. Posse Colleges 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Posse Colleges is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Posse Colleges can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Posse Colleges 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Posse Colleges 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, The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy, 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. Posse Colleges can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Posse Colleges can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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.

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Threats The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy are -

Regulatory challenges

– Posse Colleges 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy, Posse Colleges may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Posse Colleges has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Posse Colleges needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Posse Colleges with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing wage structure of Posse Colleges

– 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 Posse Colleges.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Posse Colleges is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Posse Colleges.

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 Posse Colleges in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Posse Colleges 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. Posse Colleges 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Posse Colleges 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Posse Colleges 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.

Environmental challenges

– Posse Colleges 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. Posse Colleges can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy 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 Posse Colleges needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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