John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B)
What makes an industry attractive? What role do innovation and entrepreneurial initiative play in building and sustaining a new business in a competitive industry? The A case presents the story of 14-year U.S. Navy veteran John "Rooster" Clagett, who left his career as a fighter pilot to pursue a business career. That step has landed him where he is at the moment: founder and president of Visual Training Solutions Group (VTSG). Clagett's current product offering is a virtual-reality training system designed for fighter pilots. While VTSG has several current government contracts, all of them are due to deliver in the next few months, leaving the pipeline dry in the near future. Rooster is concerned that he may not have the funding to meet his working-capital needs through the end of the year. In addition to the tactical issue of working capital, Rooster is faced with a decision about the future direction of the company. His product has started to gain traction, and large competitors are starting to take notice. Rooster sees several options: forging ahead and taking the large players head on, creating a plan to try to partner with them, or taking his innovative product in a different direction and to a different industry. He is unsure of the competitive environment in the e-learning industry. Is that industry an attractive place in which to compete? He had gained a foothold in the Department of Defense because of his unique knowledge, but would he be as successful outside his comfort zone? The B case (UV2012) offers a short epilogue revealing Rooster's success in meeting his funding needs, his decision to stay in the defense industry, and the birth of strategic alliances with several large defense contractors.
Swot Analysis of "John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B)" written by Gregory Fairchild, Richard Banyard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rooster Clagett facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Entrepreneurial finance, Entrepreneurial management, Joint ventures, Marketing, Product development and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices,
geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rooster Clagett, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rooster Clagett 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rooster Clagett
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 Rooster Clagett
Strengths John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rooster Clagett in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Rooster Clagett has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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.
Analytics focus
– Rooster Clagett 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 Gregory Fairchild, Richard Banyard 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.
High brand equity
– Rooster Clagett has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rooster Clagett to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Rooster Clagett 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 Rooster Clagett is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rooster Clagett 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) - 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
– Rooster Clagett is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Rooster Clagett
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rooster Clagett does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Rooster Clagett 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 Rooster Clagett in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Rooster Clagett 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 Rooster Clagett in the sector have low bargaining power. John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rooster Clagett to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rooster Clagett has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rooster Clagett 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.
Weaknesses John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), is just above the industry average. Rooster Clagett 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Rooster Clagett has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Rooster Clagett supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rooster Clagett vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) HBR case study mentions - Rooster Clagett 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rooster Clagett 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. Rooster Clagett 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Rooster Clagett products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rooster Clagett needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rooster Clagett is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rooster Clagett is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Rooster Clagett needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rooster Clagett to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), it seems that the employees of Rooster Clagett 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Rooster Clagett 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.
Opportunities John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) | 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rooster Clagett 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rooster Clagett to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rooster Clagett 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
– Rooster Clagett 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rooster Clagett 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 Rooster Clagett to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Rooster Clagett in the consumer business. Now Rooster Clagett can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Rooster Clagett can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rooster Clagett in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rooster Clagett can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rooster Clagett 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, John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rooster Clagett 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rooster Clagett can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rooster Clagett operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rooster Clagett to increase its market reach. Rooster Clagett 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
– Rooster Clagett 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.
Threats John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rooster Clagett can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rooster Clagett has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rooster Clagett 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.
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 Rooster Clagett 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. Rooster Clagett 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 wage structure of Rooster Clagett
– 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 Rooster Clagett.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rooster Clagett 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, Rooster Clagett 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) .
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. Rooster Clagett needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Rooster Clagett is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B), Rooster Clagett 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 .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Rooster Clagett needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rooster Clagett 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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 John "Rooster" Clagett: Visual Training Solutions Group, Inc. (B) 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 Rooster Clagett needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.