When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance
This article presents an alternative viewpoint to the accepted wisdom that detailed performance measurement of individual employees is necessary to achieve superior performance. As we reveal, managers of a market-leading German energy distribution company do not utilize performance measures to manage the performance of their employees; rather, operational excellence is achieved through mechanisms ultimately based on trust and responsibility. Building on observations at this firm, we put forward a set of proposed characteristics of companies that may not require formalized individual performance measurement systems in order to achieve high performance standards.
Swot Analysis of "When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance" written by K. W. Platts, M. Sobotka includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Performance Uncountable facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Performance Uncountable, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Performance Uncountable 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Performance Uncountable
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 Performance Uncountable
Strengths When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Performance Uncountable in When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Performance Uncountable in the sector have low bargaining power. When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Performance Uncountable to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Performance Uncountable 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 K. W. Platts, M. Sobotka 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.
Learning organization
- Performance Uncountable 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 Performance Uncountable is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Performance Uncountable has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Performance Uncountable 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Performance Uncountable 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 recruit top talent
– Performance Uncountable is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Performance Uncountable in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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
– Performance Uncountable is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Performance Uncountable digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Performance Uncountable 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
– When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Performance Uncountable to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Performance Uncountable to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Performance Uncountable
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Performance Uncountable does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance HBR case study mentions - Performance Uncountable 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Performance Uncountable, firm in the HBR case study When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Performance Uncountable is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, K. W. Platts, M. Sobotka suggests that, Performance Uncountable 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 Performance Uncountable has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Performance Uncountable supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Performance Uncountable vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Performance Uncountable 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Performance Uncountable is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Performance Uncountable needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Performance Uncountable 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance, it seems that the employees of Performance Uncountable 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Performance Uncountable 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Performance Uncountable 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance | 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance are -
Loyalty marketing
– Performance Uncountable 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Performance Uncountable to increase its market reach. Performance Uncountable 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Performance Uncountable has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Performance Uncountable to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance case study. Performance Uncountable can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Performance Uncountable is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 Performance Uncountable in the consumer business. Now Performance Uncountable can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Performance Uncountable 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Performance Uncountable to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Performance Uncountable 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 Performance Uncountable to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Performance Uncountable can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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, Performance Uncountable can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Performance Uncountable operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Performance Uncountable 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.
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. Performance Uncountable can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Performance Uncountable 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Performance Uncountable 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.
Threats When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance are -
Regulatory challenges
– Performance Uncountable 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Performance Uncountable 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 wage structure of Performance Uncountable
– 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 Performance Uncountable.
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. Performance Uncountable 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 Performance Uncountable in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance, Performance Uncountable 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Performance Uncountable with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Performance Uncountable has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Performance Uncountable 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Performance Uncountable 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.
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. Performance Uncountable needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Performance Uncountable 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Performance Uncountable is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 When the Uncountable Counts: An Alternative to Monitoring Employee Performance 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 Performance Uncountable needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
