Case Study Description of SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.Settling into his seat on the train bound for New York, CEO Jonathan Harber reflected on the evolution of SchoolNet's position in the educational technology market and its important relationship with Philadelphia. Specifically, how could it transition from a project to a long-term technology partner in Philadelphia? More generally, though Philadelphia and other districts had been searching for technology solutions for several years, the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had accelerated the adoption rates of products designed to help districts manage performance data. How might SchoolNet continue to take advantage of this market dynamic, while extending its relevance to current and potential customers beyond the parameters created by the mandates? Includes color exhibits.
Swot Analysis of "SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates" written by Stacey Childress includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Philadelphia Schoolnet facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Sales, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Philadelphia Schoolnet, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Philadelphia Schoolnet
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 Philadelphia Schoolnet
Strengths SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Philadelphia Schoolnet in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Philadelphia Schoolnet to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Philadelphia Schoolnet to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Philadelphia Schoolnet has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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.
Learning organization
- Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 Philadelphia Schoolnet is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Philadelphia Schoolnet in the sector have low bargaining power. SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Philadelphia Schoolnet to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Philadelphia Schoolnet digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Philadelphia Schoolnet is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 Philadelphia Schoolnet
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Philadelphia Schoolnet does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Philadelphia Schoolnet is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Philadelphia Schoolnet has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 Philadelphia Schoolnet in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Philadelphia Schoolnet products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Philadelphia Schoolnet needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Philadelphia Schoolnet is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Philadelphia Schoolnet needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Philadelphia Schoolnet to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, is just above the industry average. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stacey Childress suggests that, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, in the dynamic environment Philadelphia Schoolnet has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Philadelphia Schoolnet has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Philadelphia Schoolnet supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Philadelphia Schoolnet vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates HBR case study mentions - Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Opportunities SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates | 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Philadelphia Schoolnet to increase its market reach. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Philadelphia Schoolnet can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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.
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. Philadelphia Schoolnet can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Philadelphia Schoolnet 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, Philadelphia Schoolnet is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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.
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. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Philadelphia Schoolnet can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Philadelphia Schoolnet operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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, SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates are -
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 Philadelphia Schoolnet.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
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. Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
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. Philadelphia Schoolnet needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Philadelphia Schoolnet with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Philadelphia Schoolnet 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.
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 Philadelphia Schoolnet in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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.
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. Philadelphia Schoolnet can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Philadelphia Schoolnet 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 SchoolNet: Pursuing Opportunity Beyond Federal Mandates 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 Philadelphia Schoolnet needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
