Jennifer and Philip Raiser, a sibling partnership who inherited a real estate management and ownership company from their father, ponder the strategic and financial challenges facing their family business. Reviews the history of the business and asks what the best strategic direction is for the business. Considers implications for the business and family and what role tradition should play.
Authors :: John A. Davis, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Swot Analysis of "Raiser Organization" written by John A. Davis, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Raiser Sibling facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Raiser Organization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Market research, Strategy and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Raiser Organization casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Raiser Organization
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Raiser Organization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Raiser Sibling, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Raiser Sibling 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 Raiser Organization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Raiser Organization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Raiser Sibling
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 Raiser Sibling
Strengths Raiser Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Raiser Sibling in Raiser Organization Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Raiser Sibling 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 Raiser Organization - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Raiser Sibling 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 John A. Davis, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld 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.
Training and development
– Raiser Sibling has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Raiser Organization 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Raiser Sibling is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Raiser Organization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Raiser Organization 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Raiser Sibling is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Raiser Organization 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Raiser Sibling 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Raiser Organization firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Raiser Sibling to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Raiser Sibling to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Raiser Sibling in the sector have low bargaining power. Raiser Organization has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Raiser Sibling to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Raiser Sibling 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 Raiser Sibling in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Raiser Sibling
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Raiser Sibling does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Raiser Sibling has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Raiser Sibling to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Raiser Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Raiser Organization are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Raiser Sibling 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 - Raiser Organization should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John A. Davis, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld suggests that, Raiser Sibling 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Raiser Organization, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Raiser Sibling is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Raiser Sibling needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Raiser Sibling to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Raiser Organization, is just above the industry average. Raiser Sibling 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Raiser Sibling products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Raiser Sibling needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Raiser Sibling 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Raiser Organization, it seems that the employees of Raiser Sibling 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Raiser Sibling 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.
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 Raiser Sibling supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Raiser Organization, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Raiser Sibling vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Raiser Sibling, firm in the HBR case study Raiser Organization needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Raiser Organization | 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 Raiser Organization are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Raiser Sibling to increase its market reach. Raiser Sibling 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Raiser Sibling 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Raiser Sibling can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Raiser Organization 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Raiser Sibling 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Raiser Sibling can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Raiser Sibling 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.
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 Raiser Sibling 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Raiser Sibling can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Raiser Sibling operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Raiser Sibling can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Raiser Sibling 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 Raiser Organization - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Raiser Sibling to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Raiser Sibling 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.
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. Raiser Sibling can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Raiser Sibling has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Raiser Sibling to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Raiser Organization case study. Raiser Sibling can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Raiser Organization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Raiser Organization are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Raiser Sibling 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 Raiser Organization .
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Raiser Sibling 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.
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. Raiser Sibling needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Raiser Sibling 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.
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 Raiser Sibling.
Regulatory challenges
– Raiser Sibling 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. Raiser Sibling can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Raiser Sibling has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Raiser Sibling 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Raiser Sibling high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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 Raiser Sibling business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Raiser Sibling 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.
Environmental challenges
– Raiser Sibling 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. Raiser Sibling can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Raiser Organization 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 Raiser Organization 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 Raiser Organization 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 Raiser Organization 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 Raiser Organization 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 Raiser Sibling needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
