How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink
In this organizational performance article, Penn State alumnus Steven Fink-dubbed the 'Dean of Crisis Managment' for his pioneering work in the field-discusses how Penn State's board of trustees mishandled the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Basing his opinions on years of crisis management for some of the world's most prestigious companies and organizations, Fink presents an argument for how Penn State's board of trustee's reaction to the accusations against Sandusky amplified the media-driven crisis. Coach Joe Paterno's firing and a lack of control over an independent investigation created a series of horrific crisis management and communications blunders, which to this day has left a negative view of Penn State in the mind of many. Beyond the criticism, Fink offers examples of well-managed crises and suggests how Penn State could have better managed the crisis.
Swot Analysis of "How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink" written by David Ketchen Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Penn Fink facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Penn Fink, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Penn Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Penn Fink
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Penn Fink
Strengths How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Penn Fink in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Penn Fink to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Penn Fink to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Penn Fink has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Penn Fink 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 David Ketchen Jr. 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Penn Fink 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Penn Fink is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Penn Fink
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Penn Fink does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Penn Fink is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Penn Fink is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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.
High brand equity
– Penn Fink has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Penn Fink to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Penn Fink digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Penn Fink has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Training and development
– Penn Fink has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Penn Fink 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 Penn Fink in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Penn Fink 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 - How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Penn Fink 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Penn Fink, firm in the HBR case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Penn Fink is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Penn Fink needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Penn Fink to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Penn Fink 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink, it seems that the employees of Penn Fink 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Penn Fink 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Penn Fink 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Penn Fink 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. Penn Fink 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Penn Fink 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink | 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Penn Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Penn Fink to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Penn Fink 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Penn Fink 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. Penn Fink 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Penn Fink can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Penn Fink can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Penn Fink can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Penn Fink 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, How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Penn Fink can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Penn Fink to increase its market reach. Penn Fink 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Penn Fink 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 Penn Fink 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 Penn Fink in the consumer business. Now Penn Fink can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Penn Fink can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Penn Fink has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Penn Fink to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink case study. Penn Fink can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Penn Fink has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Penn Fink needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Penn Fink with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Penn Fink can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Penn Fink.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Penn Fink 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.
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. Penn Fink needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Penn Fink is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Penn Fink
– 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 Penn Fink.
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 Penn Fink in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Penn Fink 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink, Penn Fink may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Penn Fink 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, Penn Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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 How Penn State Turned a Crisis Into a Disaster: An Interview With Crisis Management Pioneer Steven Fink 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 Penn Fink needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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