Case Study Description of VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012
This compilation of five vignettes depicts common challenges confronting venture capital and leveraged buyout groups. They range from when to deviate from a strategy and how to manage an inept but well-connected executive to equity splits among founders and whether to invest more money in a promising but struggling company. The final vignette summarizes the Simmons Bedding bankruptcy saga.
Authors :: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Ann Leamon
Swot Analysis of "VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012" written by Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Ann Leamon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vignettes Inept facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vignettes Inept, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vignettes Inept 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vignettes Inept
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 Vignettes Inept
Strengths VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vignettes Inept in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Vignettes Inept has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Vignettes Inept to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Vignettes Inept is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Vignettes Inept is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Vignettes Inept 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 Vignettes Inept is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Vignettes Inept
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Vignettes Inept does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vignettes Inept 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Vignettes Inept 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Vignettes Inept in the sector have low bargaining power. VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Vignettes Inept to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vignettes Inept is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Vignettes Inept 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 Vignettes Inept in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Vignettes Inept has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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.
Weaknesses VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 Vignettes Inept has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Vignettes Inept is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Vignettes Inept needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Vignettes Inept to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Vignettes Inept 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Vignettes Inept 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 HBR case study mentions - Vignettes Inept 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Ann Leamon suggests that, Vignettes Inept 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 Vignettes Inept 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Vignettes Inept 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.
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 Vignettes Inept supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vignettes Inept vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Vignettes Inept 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. Vignettes Inept 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.
Opportunities VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 | 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 are -
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. Vignettes Inept can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Vignettes Inept 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, VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012, 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. Vignettes Inept 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 Vignettes Inept 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.
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 Vignettes Inept in the consumer business. Now Vignettes Inept can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Vignettes Inept 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.
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. Vignettes Inept 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. Vignettes Inept can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Developing new processes and practices
– Vignettes Inept 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Vignettes Inept is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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
– Vignettes Inept 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Vignettes Inept 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 Vignettes Inept to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vignettes Inept 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vignettes Inept to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Vignettes Inept has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Vignettes Inept to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 case study. Vignettes Inept can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 Vignettes Inept in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Vignettes Inept 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Vignettes Inept 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.
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 Vignettes Inept.
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. Vignettes Inept 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
– Vignettes Inept 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. Vignettes Inept can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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 Vignettes Inept business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Vignettes Inept
– 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 Vignettes Inept.
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. Vignettes Inept needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012, Vignettes Inept 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vignettes Inept is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vignettes Inept has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vignettes Inept 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 VCPE Strategy Vignettes: 2012 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 Vignettes Inept needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
