FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
Describes some strategic and financial issues confronting the founder and executive director of a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving awareness of and interest in science and technology among elementary and high school students. The organization sponsors national robotics competitions.
Swot Analysis of "FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" written by William A. Sahlman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Science Robotics facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology casestudy better are - – 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, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Science Robotics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Science Robotics 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Science Robotics
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 Science Robotics
Strengths FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Science Robotics in FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Science Robotics 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Science Robotics 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Science Robotics 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 Science Robotics is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Science Robotics 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Science Robotics in the sector have low bargaining power. FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Science Robotics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Science Robotics to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Science Robotics to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Science Robotics 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 William A. Sahlman 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Science Robotics in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Science Robotics 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Science Robotics has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Science Robotics has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Science Robotics is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Science Robotics is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Science Robotics 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, William A. Sahlman suggests that, Science Robotics 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Science Robotics is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 Science Robotics 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology HBR case study mentions - Science Robotics 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, it seems that the employees of Science Robotics don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Science Robotics 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. Science Robotics 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Science Robotics is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Science Robotics needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Science Robotics to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 Science Robotics has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Science Robotics, firm in the HBR case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology | 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Science Robotics 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 Science Robotics to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Science Robotics 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
– Science Robotics 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.
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. Science Robotics can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Science Robotics can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Science Robotics operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Science Robotics can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Science Robotics to increase its market reach. Science Robotics 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Science Robotics 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Science Robotics 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, FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Science Robotics 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Science Robotics 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Science Robotics 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 Science Robotics has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Science Robotics to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology case study. Science Robotics can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Science Robotics 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.
Threats FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology are -
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. Science Robotics can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, Science Robotics 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Science Robotics 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Science Robotics with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Science Robotics.
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. Science Robotics 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Science Robotics 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.
Increasing wage structure of Science Robotics
– 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 Science Robotics.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Science Robotics has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Science Robotics 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.
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 Science Robotics 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Science Robotics 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Science Robotics 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology 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 Science Robotics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.