Case Study Description of CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock
This case B cannot be taught as a stand-alone case, but is a direct continuation of the FocusCase "CVWarehouse (A): Offline- and Online-Adventures in the Recruitment Industry". This second part illustrated the decisions the entrepreneur took during crisis and how she resolved the deadlock of her companies by the current investors. The case illustrates how she is trying (and eventually succeeding) to sell one of her business in order to buy out the investors from her other company on which she wants to focus in the future. But the whole process is very complex as the buyer of the company is trying to pull out in the last minute and our case protagonist has to go through a nerve-wracking process with high personal risk in order to secure the deal and be able to continue with one business that she fully owns.
Authors :: Julia Prats Moreno, Marc Sosna, Dave Darsch
Swot Analysis of "CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock" written by Julia Prats Moreno, Marc Sosna, Dave Darsch includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cvwarehouse Deadlock facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Growth strategy, Human resource management, Internet and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cvwarehouse Deadlock, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cvwarehouse Deadlock
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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock
Strengths CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cvwarehouse Deadlock in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
High brand equity
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cvwarehouse Deadlock to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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.
Learning organization
- Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Training and development
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cvwarehouse Deadlock digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cvwarehouse Deadlock has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cvwarehouse Deadlock is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock, 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cvwarehouse Deadlock has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Julia Prats Moreno, Marc Sosna, Dave Darsch suggests that, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock, is just above the industry average. Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cvwarehouse Deadlock has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock 's lucrative customers.
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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cvwarehouse Deadlock vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 - CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock | 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cvwarehouse Deadlock is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock in the consumer business. Now Cvwarehouse Deadlock can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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, CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Cvwarehouse Deadlock can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cvwarehouse Deadlock can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cvwarehouse Deadlock can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cvwarehouse Deadlock operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cvwarehouse Deadlock to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Threats CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock are -
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. Cvwarehouse Deadlock needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cvwarehouse Deadlock can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cvwarehouse Deadlock is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock .
Increasing wage structure of Cvwarehouse Deadlock
– 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock, Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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 .
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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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. Cvwarehouse Deadlock can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cvwarehouse Deadlock 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 CVWarehouse (B): Breaking the Deadlock 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 Cvwarehouse Deadlock needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
