Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government
KCC had just successfully completed a large IT system to support its Financials and HR, a major success for an organization that until 2001 was paralyzed by the mountain of IT tasks and targets ahead, spending A£43 million annually on IT without clear returns. How did they achieve this?
Authors :: Theodoros Theos Evgeniou, Kishore Sengupta, Anthony Westenberg
Swot Analysis of "Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government" written by Theodoros Theos Evgeniou, Kishore Sengupta, Anthony Westenberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kcc Paralyzed facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, IT, Strategy execution and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government casestudy better are - – technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kcc Paralyzed, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kcc Paralyzed
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kcc Paralyzed
Strengths Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kcc Paralyzed in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Kcc Paralyzed is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kcc Paralyzed has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kcc Paralyzed 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kcc Paralyzed 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.
Analytics focus
– Kcc Paralyzed 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 Theodoros Theos Evgeniou, Kishore Sengupta, Anthony Westenberg 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kcc Paralyzed in the sector have low bargaining power. Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kcc Paralyzed to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kcc Paralyzed is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kcc Paralyzed is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Kcc Paralyzed is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Kcc Paralyzed has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 brand equity
– Kcc Paralyzed has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kcc Paralyzed to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kcc Paralyzed is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Communication 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.
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 Kcc Paralyzed supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kcc Paralyzed vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government, it seems that the employees of Kcc Paralyzed 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Theodoros Theos Evgeniou, Kishore Sengupta, Anthony Westenberg suggests that, Kcc Paralyzed 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kcc Paralyzed 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 - Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kcc Paralyzed is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Kcc Paralyzed needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kcc Paralyzed has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government, is just above the industry average. Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kcc Paralyzed products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kcc Paralyzed needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government | 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kcc Paralyzed to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kcc Paralyzed is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kcc Paralyzed to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kcc Paralyzed 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Kcc Paralyzed can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Kcc Paralyzed can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communication 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kcc Paralyzed can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kcc Paralyzed operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kcc Paralyzed 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 Communication segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kcc Paralyzed 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, Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kcc Paralyzed can develop new processes and procedures in Communication 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 Kcc Paralyzed has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kcc Paralyzed to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government case study. Kcc Paralyzed can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Kcc Paralyzed in the consumer business. Now Kcc Paralyzed can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kcc Paralyzed to increase its market reach. Kcc Paralyzed 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.
Threats Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communication field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kcc Paralyzed can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kcc Paralyzed 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kcc Paralyzed 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kcc Paralyzed 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.
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 Kcc Paralyzed in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kcc Paralyzed with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kcc Paralyzed is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Kcc Paralyzed business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Kcc Paralyzed
– 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 Kcc Paralyzed.
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 Kcc Paralyzed.
Environmental challenges
– Kcc Paralyzed 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. Kcc Paralyzed can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
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. Kcc Paralyzed 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. Kcc Paralyzed needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kent County Council: Implementing IT for E-Government 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 Kcc Paralyzed needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.