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The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business


The case highlights the impact of recent collective bargaining changes on the implementation of performance-based pay in a Canadian business school currently going through the AACSB accreditation process, the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan. It is written from the perspective of a new faculty member who is engaged in a decision-making process surrounding the development of a points-based system designed to allocate merit pay. The process is forcing her to evaluate how she is structuring the allocation of her work, which is directly affecting her motivation toward coaching a student case competition team. Edwards historically used a judgment-based approach to the allocation of merit. The case outlines the rationale used in the design of the new points-based system, discusses the potential advantages and disadvantages, and highlights the perspectives of different stakeholders throughout the process, including the union, the faculty and senior administration at the university, college and department levels. The union is opposed to merit, so has outlined fairly stringent criteria for the awarding of merit in the new collective agreement. Faculty opinion is mixed surrounding merit more generally, and the implementation of a points-based system versus a judgment-based system in particular. Senior university administration is committed to the continuation of the merit system at the university as a tool to reward outstanding performance and to retain star faculty. The individual departments at Edwards are in the midst of finalizing the standards and procedures for allocation of merit-based pay. The protagonist is uncertain about how her department will proceed in the design and allocation of points, and how it will result in her re-allocating her work tasks.

Authors :: Dionne Pohler

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Labor, Leadership, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business" written by Dionne Pohler includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Merit Edwards facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Labor, Leadership, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, 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 energy prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Merit Edwards, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Merit Edwards 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Merit Edwards
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 Merit Edwards




Strengths The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Merit Edwards in The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Merit Edwards is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Merit Edwards in the sector have low bargaining power. The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Merit Edwards to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Merit Edwards is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Merit Edwards 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Organizational Resilience of Merit Edwards

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Merit Edwards does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Analytics focus

– Merit Edwards 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 Dionne Pohler can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Strong track record of project management

– Merit Edwards is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Merit Edwards 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Merit Edwards 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.

Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Merit Edwards digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Merit Edwards 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.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Merit Edwards 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 Merit Edwards in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.






Weaknesses The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Merit Edwards is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Merit Edwards, firm in the HBR case study The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Merit Edwards 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Merit Edwards 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. Merit Edwards 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 dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 Merit Edwards has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Merit Edwards 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 - The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 Merit Edwards 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business, is just above the industry average. Merit Edwards 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Merit Edwards is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Merit Edwards needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Merit Edwards to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Merit Edwards 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Merit Edwards 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.




Opportunities The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business | 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Merit Edwards 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.

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. Merit Edwards 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. Merit Edwards 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Merit Edwards 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Merit Edwards 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 Merit Edwards to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Merit Edwards 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Merit Edwards to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Loyalty marketing

– Merit Edwards 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Merit Edwards is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Merit Edwards 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Merit Edwards 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Merit Edwards can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Merit Edwards can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Merit Edwards can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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 Merit Edwards 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.




Threats The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business are -

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Merit Edwards 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Merit Edwards 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 Merit Edwards 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

– Merit Edwards 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 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.

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. Merit Edwards 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.

Environmental challenges

– Merit Edwards 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. Merit Edwards can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

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. Merit Edwards 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 Merit Edwards is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Merit Edwards 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business .

Increasing wage structure of Merit Edwards

– 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 Merit Edwards.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Merit Edwards has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Merit Edwards 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 The Merit of a Points-based Merit System at the Edwards School of Business 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 Merit Edwards needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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