Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight
Kevin Knight recounts an uncomfortable situation he faced as an African-American student at Harvard Business School. Concerned with maintaining an image as a calm and rational person, he is appalled when he finds himself in a heated classroom exchange in defense of an African-American case protagonist. Knight questions whether his fears about ethnic stereotypes had prevented him from learning important leadership skills. Knight reflects on his image concerns, questioning whether they have undermined his ability to lead effectively.
Swot Analysis of "Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight" written by Robin J. Ely, Ingrid Vargas includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Knight Image facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Race and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Knight Image, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Knight Image 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Knight Image
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 Knight Image
Strengths Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Knight Image in Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Knight Image 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Knight Image 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 Knight Image in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Knight Image in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Knight Image to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Knight Image to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Knight Image has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Knight Image 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.
Training and development
– Knight Image has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Knight Image is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Knight Image
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Knight Image does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Knight Image 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 Robin J. Ely, Ingrid Vargas 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Knight Image 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Knight Image 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Knight Image has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Knight Image 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Knight Image, firm in the HBR case study Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Knight Image 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robin J. Ely, Ingrid Vargas suggests that, Knight Image 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.
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 Knight Image supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Knight Image vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight HBR case study mentions - Knight Image 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Knight Image products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Knight Image needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Knight Image is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Knight Image 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Knight Image 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.
Opportunities Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight | 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight are -
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 Knight Image in the consumer business. Now Knight Image can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Knight Image can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Knight Image in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Knight Image 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, Knight Image 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, Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Knight Image 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 Knight Image to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Knight Image can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Knight Image can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Knight Image operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Knight Image 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Knight Image to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Knight Image 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Knight Image is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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.
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. Knight Image can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Knight Image can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight are -
Environmental challenges
– Knight Image 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. Knight Image can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
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 Knight Image business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Knight Image 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, Knight Image 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight, Knight Image 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. Knight Image can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Knight Image.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Knight Image with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Knight Image 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Knight Image in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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
– Knight Image 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.
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 Knight Image in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight 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 Knight Image needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.