Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars
Understanding how organizations operate and finding ways to improve organizations are of central importance to managers and to scholars that study business. We believe that greater synergy can be developed between these two groups. In particular, we suggest that collaborating on issues that both groups view as interesting can provide a motivating and stimulating setting for finding ways to improve organizations. We also offer two series of specific recommendations: one for managers and one for scholars. These recommendations are intended to make each side's goals more salient to the other and to help each side become a more valued resource for the other.
Swot Analysis of "Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars" written by R. Duane Ireland, David Ketchen Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Scholars Organizations facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Scholars Organizations, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Scholars Organizations 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Scholars Organizations
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 Scholars Organizations
Strengths Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Scholars Organizations in Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Scholars Organizations has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Scholars Organizations to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Scholars Organizations
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Scholars Organizations does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Scholars Organizations 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Scholars Organizations 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Scholars Organizations has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Scholars Organizations 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Scholars Organizations is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Scholars Organizations to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Scholars Organizations to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Scholars Organizations is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Scholars Organizations 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Scholars Organizations in the sector have low bargaining power. Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Scholars Organizations to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Scholars Organizations 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 Scholars Organizations in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Scholars Organizations 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 R. Duane Ireland, 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.
Weaknesses Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars, is just above the industry average. Scholars Organizations 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars, it seems that the employees of Scholars Organizations 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Scholars Organizations 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Scholars Organizations 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Scholars Organizations, firm in the HBR case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Scholars Organizations is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Scholars Organizations is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Scholars Organizations needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Scholars Organizations to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, R. Duane Ireland, David Ketchen Jr. suggests that, Scholars Organizations 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Scholars Organizations products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Scholars Organizations needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Scholars Organizations 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 - Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Scholars Organizations 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.
Opportunities Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars | 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Scholars Organizations 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Scholars Organizations to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Scholars Organizations can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Scholars Organizations 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. Scholars Organizations 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Scholars Organizations 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 Scholars Organizations to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Scholars Organizations can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Scholars Organizations operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Scholars Organizations to increase its market reach. Scholars Organizations 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Scholars Organizations can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Scholars Organizations has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Scholars Organizations to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars case study. Scholars Organizations can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Scholars Organizations 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.
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. Scholars Organizations 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, Scholars Organizations 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, Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars, 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. Scholars Organizations can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Scholars Organizations 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.
Threats Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars, Scholars Organizations 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Scholars Organizations 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars .
Increasing wage structure of Scholars Organizations
– 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 Scholars Organizations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Scholars Organizations has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Scholars Organizations 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Scholars Organizations 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.
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. Scholars Organizations 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 Scholars Organizations business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Scholars Organizations 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.
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. Scholars Organizations can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Scholars Organizations in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Scholars Organizations 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.
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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Interesting Problems and Interesting Research: A Path to Effective Exchanges Between Managers and Scholars 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 Scholars Organizations needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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