Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Communication
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow
Companies communicate and operate across vast social and geographical spaces. The way that valuable knowledge is shared and transferred across these spaces is essential for creating and sustaining a healthy culture of innovation. To facilitate this, managers must look beyond formal organizational structures to the informal networks of ties and relationships that employees form across functions and divisions. Through his research, IESE Prof. Marco Tortoriello has identified a number of strategies for bolstering these informal networks. The first step is to institute boundary-spanning operations, which means identifying people within the organization who have the right set of features to serve as conduits for knowledge transfer within and between units. Next, the broader network context needs to be developed to support boundary-spanning outcomes. This means ensuring that the ties that link the company's informal networks are sufficiently strong and with appropriate range to channel vital knowledge between units. By far the most important step involves creating the "best" network conditions that will support the transfer of knowledge across different parts of the organization, which may facilitate better conditions for innovation.
Swot Analysis of "Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow" written by Marco Tortoriello includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Knowledge Informal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Knowledge Informal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Knowledge Informal 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Knowledge Informal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Knowledge Informal
Strengths Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Knowledge Informal in Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Knowledge Informal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Knowledge Informal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Knowledge Informal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Knowledge Informal 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.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Knowledge Informal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Knowledge Informal 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Knowledge Informal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Knowledge Informal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Knowledge Informal 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 Marco Tortoriello 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Knowledge Informal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Knowledge Informal 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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.
Ability to lead change in Communication field
– Knowledge Informal 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 Knowledge Informal 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 Knowledge Informal 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
- Knowledge Informal 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 Knowledge Informal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Knowledge Informal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Knowledge Informal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Communication strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Knowledge Informal 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 - Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow, in the dynamic environment Knowledge Informal has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Knowledge Informal has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Knowledge Informal 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow, is just above the industry average. Knowledge Informal 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Marco Tortoriello suggests that, Knowledge Informal 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Knowledge Informal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Knowledge Informal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow HBR case study mentions - Knowledge Informal 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow, it seems that the employees of Knowledge Informal don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Knowledge Informal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Knowledge Informal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow | 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Knowledge Informal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Knowledge Informal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Knowledge Informal 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.
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. Knowledge Informal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Knowledge Informal 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, Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Knowledge Informal can develop new processes and procedures in Communication industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Knowledge Informal to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Knowledge Informal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Knowledge Informal to increase its market reach. Knowledge Informal 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Knowledge Informal in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communication segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Knowledge Informal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Knowledge Informal 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Knowledge Informal 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 Knowledge Informal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Knowledge Informal 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.
Threats Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow are -
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. Knowledge Informal 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.
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 Knowledge Informal in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Knowledge Informal is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Knowledge Informal 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. Knowledge Informal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Knowledge Informal 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.
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. Knowledge Informal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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 Knowledge Informal.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Knowledge Informal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communication industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Knowledge Informal needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communication 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 wage structure of Knowledge Informal
– 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 Knowledge Informal.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Knowledge Informal in the Communication industry. The Communication 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Knowledge Informal 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Understand Your Network and Let Knowledge Flow 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 Knowledge Informal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.