One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?
The quality of the next generation of business leaders will be determined by the ways in which business schools respond to a host of dramatic changes emerging in the environment of higher education. While specific initiatives will vary widely, one thing seems certain: business schools will need to be more nimble, more innovative, and more efficient than ever before. The Kelley School of Business, Indiana University has consistently been at the forefront of business education. Over the past century, the School has developed a set of capabilities that has enabled it to capitalize on the forces that have shaped the evolution of business education. In this article, we review several significant trends affecting the future of business education and share the success principles that we believe are most applicable to thriving in the new world that is on our doorstep.
Authors :: Frank Acito, Patricia M. McDougall, Daniel C. Smith
Swot Analysis of "One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?" written by Frank Acito, Patricia M. McDougall, Daniel C. Smith includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Education Business facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices,
wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Education Business, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Education Business 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Education Business
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 Education Business
Strengths One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Education Business in One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Education Business 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 Frank Acito, Patricia M. McDougall, Daniel C. Smith 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Education Business in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Education Business 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Education Business 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 Education Business is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Education Business is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Education Business 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Education Business 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 Education Business in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Education Business has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Education Business 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 Education Business digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Education Business 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Education Business to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Education Business to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Education Business is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?, in the dynamic environment Education Business has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Education Business has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Education Business 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Education Business 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.
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 Education Business supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Education Business vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Education Business 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?, 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Education Business 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. Education Business 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Education Business 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Education Business is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Education Business needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Education Business to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned?, it seems that the employees of Education Business 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Education Business 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 - One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? | 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? are -
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. Education Business 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 Education Business to increase its market reach. Education Business 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Education Business can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Education Business operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Education Business can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Education Business 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.
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. Education Business can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Education Business has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Education Business to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? case study. Education Business can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Education Business can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Education Business 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Education Business 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Education Business is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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.
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 Education Business in the consumer business. Now Education Business can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Education Business 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.
Threats One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? are -
Regulatory challenges
– Education Business 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Education Business is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Education Business 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.
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. Education Business needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Education Business business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Education Business has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Education Business 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Education Business 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.
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. Education Business 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, Education Business 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? .
Increasing wage structure of Education Business
– 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 Education Business.
Environmental challenges
– Education Business 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. Education Business 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Business Education: What Have We Learned? 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 Education Business needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
