A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover
Increased workforce mobility imposes a significant cost on many organizations because of the negative impact departing employees have on informal networks. The turnover of well-connected employees disrupts networks important to innovation, best practice transfer, and project execution. Yet while network losses can be quite costly, they are typically invisible to most organizations' financial and performance management systems. Using network data, this article shows how managers formulate three different kinds of strategies, namely, identifying flight risks in advance of departure, investing in key people in the network to improve retention, and improving network connectivity to enable it to be maintained in the face of turnover.
Authors :: Gary Ballinger, Elizabeth Craig, Rob Cross, Peter H. Gray
Swot Analysis of "A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover" written by Gary Ballinger, Elizabeth Craig, Rob Cross, Peter H. Gray includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Turnover Network facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Employee retention, Human resource management, Innovation, Networking and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Turnover Network, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Turnover Network 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Turnover Network
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 Turnover Network
Strengths A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Turnover Network in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Turnover Network 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 Gary Ballinger, Elizabeth Craig, Rob Cross, Peter H. Gray 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
– Turnover Network 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 Turnover Network in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Turnover Network 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Turnover Network to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Turnover Network to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Turnover Network in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Turnover Network 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Turnover Network is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Turnover Network 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Turnover Network in the sector have low bargaining power. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Turnover Network to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Turnover Network 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 Turnover Network is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Turnover Network is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Turnover Network
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Turnover Network does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Turnover Network products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Turnover Network needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Turnover Network is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Turnover Network has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Turnover Network even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Turnover Network 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover HBR case study mentions - Turnover Network takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gary Ballinger, Elizabeth Craig, Rob Cross, Peter H. Gray suggests that, Turnover Network 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Turnover Network 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Turnover Network 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Turnover Network 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Turnover Network is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Turnover Network needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Turnover Network to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover | 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Turnover Network can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Loyalty marketing
– Turnover Network 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Turnover Network 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Turnover Network 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, A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Turnover Network 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Turnover Network 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 Turnover Network in the consumer business. Now Turnover Network can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Turnover Network 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Turnover Network can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Turnover Network can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Turnover Network can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Turnover Network can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Turnover Network 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.
Threats A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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. Turnover Network needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Turnover Network 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.
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. Turnover Network 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 Turnover Network is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Turnover Network.
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 Turnover Network in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Turnover Network 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. Turnover Network can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Turnover Network has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Turnover Network 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Turnover Network 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Turnover Network 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Turnover Network 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.
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 Turnover Network business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Turnover Network 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Leveraging Networks to Reduce the Costs of Turnover 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 Turnover Network needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
