Case Study Description of Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges
The president, Donna Dubinsky, and the chairman and founder, Jeff Hawkins, discuss an opportunity to sell their company to U.S. Robotics. They must weigh this option versus accepting venture capital funding, partnering with a large company that could provide distribution channels and capital, or continuing a search for capital from other sources.
Swot Analysis of "Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges" written by Myra M. Hart, Stephanie Dodson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dubinsky Donna facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Technology, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dubinsky Donna, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dubinsky Donna 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dubinsky Donna
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 Dubinsky Donna
Strengths Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dubinsky Donna in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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.
Learning organization
- Dubinsky Donna 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 Dubinsky Donna is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dubinsky Donna has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dubinsky Donna 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dubinsky Donna to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dubinsky Donna to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dubinsky Donna 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dubinsky Donna 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.
Analytics focus
– Dubinsky Donna 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 Myra M. Hart, Stephanie Dodson 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Dubinsky Donna 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 Dubinsky Donna in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Dubinsky Donna has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dubinsky Donna to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Dubinsky Donna is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dubinsky Donna 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Dubinsky Donna is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dubinsky Donna 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Dubinsky Donna 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dubinsky Donna is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Dubinsky Donna needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dubinsky Donna to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dubinsky Donna is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dubinsky Donna is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Dubinsky Donna has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dubinsky Donna has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Dubinsky Donna has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of Dubinsky Donna products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Dubinsky Donna needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dubinsky Donna 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 - Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dubinsky Donna 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.
Opportunities Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges | 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dubinsky Donna 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 Dubinsky Donna to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dubinsky Donna can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dubinsky Donna 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dubinsky Donna to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Dubinsky Donna in the consumer business. Now Dubinsky Donna can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dubinsky Donna 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Dubinsky Donna can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dubinsky Donna is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Dubinsky Donna 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Dubinsky Donna 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dubinsky Donna to increase its market reach. Dubinsky Donna 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
– Dubinsky Donna 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dubinsky Donna 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, Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Dubinsky Donna can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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.
Threats Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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. Dubinsky Donna 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 Dubinsky Donna is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dubinsky Donna 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dubinsky Donna has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dubinsky Donna 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.
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. Dubinsky Donna 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dubinsky Donna 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dubinsky Donna 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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. Dubinsky Donna needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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 Dubinsky Donna business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Dubinsky Donna in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Dubinsky Donna with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Palm Computing, Inc.--1995: Financing Challenges 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 Dubinsky Donna needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.