Swot Analysis of "Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst" written by Pratima Bansal, Pam Laughland includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 9b15m122 Thinkfirst facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 9b15m122 Thinkfirst, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst
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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst
Strengths Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst in the sector have low bargaining power. Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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.
Organizational Resilience of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 9b15m122 Thinkfirst does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Training and development
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Weaknesses Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst, it seems that the employees of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst, is just above the industry average. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Products dominated business model
– Even though 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 - Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst, in the dynamic environment 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Opportunities Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst | 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Loyalty marketing
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 9b15m122 Thinkfirst operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst case study. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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.
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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 9b15m122 Thinkfirst to increase its market reach. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst are -
Increasing wage structure of 9b15m122 Thinkfirst
– 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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst.
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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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. 9b15m122 Thinkfirst can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 9b15m122 Thinkfirst is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 9b15m122 Thinkfirst with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst .
Regulatory challenges
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst, 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 9b15m122 Thinkfirst 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 Parachute Supplement A: A Strategy for ThinkFirst 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 9b15m122 Thinkfirst needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.