Case Study Description of Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist
Madam C. J. Walker, who has been credited as the first self-made African-American woman millionaire, created a hair-care empire after years spent as a laundress in St. Louis, Missouri. Decades before the Civil Rights movement, her company gave employment to thousands of African-American women and marketed its products around the world. Madam Walker was active in the social and political causes of her day, and used her position as a successful entrepreneur to promote philanthropy and self-advancement in the African-American community.
Authors :: Anne E. Dwojeski, William Grundy, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller
Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Tags :: Gender, Leadership, Race, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist" written by Anne E. Dwojeski, William Grundy, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Madam Walker facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Leadership, Race, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Madam Walker, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Madam Walker 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Madam Walker
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 Madam Walker
Strengths Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Madam Walker in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Madam Walker 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Madam Walker digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Madam Walker 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.
Training and development
– Madam Walker has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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
– Madam Walker is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Madam Walker
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Madam Walker does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Madam Walker to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Madam Walker to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Madam Walker 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Madam Walker is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Madam Walker 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.
Learning organization
- Madam Walker 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 Madam Walker is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Madam Walker 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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.
Weaknesses Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist are -
Need for greater diversity
– Madam Walker 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam Walker 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist, in the dynamic environment Madam Walker has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Madam Walker has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anne E. Dwojeski, William Grundy, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller suggests that, Madam Walker 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Madam Walker is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist, is just above the industry average. Madam Walker 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Madam Walker is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Madam Walker needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Madam Walker to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Madam Walker 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 - Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Madam Walker is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Madam Walker 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.
Opportunities Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist | 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist are -
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 Madam Walker 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Madam Walker 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Madam Walker to increase its market reach. Madam Walker 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Madam Walker has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Madam Walker to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist case study. Madam Walker can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Madam Walker 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, Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Madam Walker can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Madam Walker 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. Madam Walker 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Madam Walker can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Madam Walker operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Madam Walker 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.
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. Madam Walker can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Madam Walker 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.
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. Madam Walker can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Madam Walker in the consumer business. Now Madam Walker can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Madam Walker 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Madam Walker has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Madam Walker 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Madam Walker 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist .
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist, Madam Walker may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Madam Walker 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.
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 Madam Walker business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Madam Walker 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.
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 Madam Walker.
Environmental challenges
– Madam Walker 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. Madam Walker can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Madam Walker with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Madam Walker in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Madam Walker 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist 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 Madam Walker needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
