ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services
Geoff Smart, founder and CEO of ghSMART & Co., wanted to build ghSMART into the #1 management-assessment firm for CEOs and investors. However, he had just received two pieces of very bad news: the demise of an existing project and the loss of a $1 million engagement he thought was already sold. The news raised difficult questions about how Geoff had structured his firm and had designed its governance and incentive systems.
Swot Analysis of "ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services" written by Noam Wasserman, Ashraf Haque includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ghsmart Geoff facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance, Leadership, Motivating people, Organizational structure and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ghsmart Geoff, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ghsmart Geoff 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ghsmart Geoff
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 Ghsmart Geoff
Strengths ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ghsmart Geoff in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ghsmart Geoff in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ghsmart Geoff in the sector have low bargaining power. ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ghsmart Geoff to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ghsmart Geoff 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Ghsmart Geoff has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ghsmart Geoff to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ghsmart Geoff is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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
– Ghsmart Geoff is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Ghsmart Geoff 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 Ghsmart Geoff is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ghsmart Geoff to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ghsmart Geoff to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ghsmart Geoff digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ghsmart Geoff 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ghsmart Geoff is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Weaknesses ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ghsmart Geoff 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 - ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 Ghsmart Geoff has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services, it seems that the employees of Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ghsmart Geoff is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services, in the dynamic environment Ghsmart Geoff has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ghsmart Geoff has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services, is just above the industry average. Ghsmart Geoff 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
– Ghsmart Geoff 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Noam Wasserman, Ashraf Haque suggests that, Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ghsmart Geoff, firm in the HBR case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ghsmart Geoff products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ghsmart Geoff needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services | 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ghsmart Geoff is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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.
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 Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ghsmart Geoff has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ghsmart Geoff to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services case study. Ghsmart Geoff can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ghsmart Geoff to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ghsmart Geoff to increase its market reach. Ghsmart Geoff 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.
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. Ghsmart Geoff 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. Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ghsmart Geoff can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Ghsmart Geoff can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ghsmart Geoff 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.
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. Ghsmart Geoff can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ghsmart Geoff has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ghsmart Geoff 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.
Environmental challenges
– Ghsmart Geoff 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. Ghsmart Geoff can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ghsmart Geoff is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ghsmart Geoff 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.
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. Ghsmart Geoff needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Ghsmart Geoff can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 Ghsmart Geoff.
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 Ghsmart Geoff in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Ghsmart Geoff
– 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 Ghsmart Geoff.
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.
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. Ghsmart Geoff 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services, Ghsmart Geoff 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 ghSMART, 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services 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 Ghsmart Geoff needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.