Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann

Eliza Hermann is vice-president of Human Resources Strategy at BP plc, based in London, England. Her career in the energy business began in 1986 when she joined Amoco Corp., where she earned a series of promotions in the international oil business, which exposed her to markets ranging from Argentina to Azerbaijan. She was a member of the team involved in the successful integration of Amoco when BP acquired the company in 1998. During the past several years at BP, she has served as manager, Strategy and Business Transformation-Global Aromatics, leading a team responsible for strategic planning and business development in the company's petrochemical segment and, more recently, as VP of human resources for BP's global gas, power, and renewables segment. Throughout her career, Hermann has traveled extensively, with particular focus on Asia, Western Europe, North America, South America, Russia, and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Hermann holds an MBA degree from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and a BA degree in social and behavioral sciences from John Hopkins University. She serves on the board of directors of Brightpoint, Inc., where she is chairperson of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee, as well as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Authors :: Catherine M. Dalton

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Human resource management, International business, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann" written by Catherine M. Dalton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hermann Bp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, International business and Leadership & Managing People.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hermann Bp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hermann Bp 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hermann Bp
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 Hermann Bp

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Strengths Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Hermann Bp in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Hermann Bp 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hermann Bp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hermann Bp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Hermann Bp is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

High brand equity

– Hermann Bp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hermann Bp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Training and development

– Hermann Bp has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Learning organization

- Hermann Bp 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 Hermann Bp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Hermann Bp in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Hermann Bp 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Hermann Bp in the sector have low bargaining power. Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hermann Bp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Hermann Bp is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

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

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Weaknesses Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Hermann Bp 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, in the dynamic environment Hermann Bp has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hermann Bp has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Hermann Bp 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 - Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Hermann Bp 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Catherine M. Dalton suggests that, Hermann Bp is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Hermann Bp supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hermann Bp vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Hermann Bp products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hermann Bp needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hermann Bp 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. Hermann Bp 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, it seems that the employees of Hermann Bp 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, Hermann Bp 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.

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Opportunities Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann | 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hermann Bp 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Hermann Bp 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hermann Bp to increase its market reach. Hermann Bp 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hermann Bp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Hermann Bp 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hermann Bp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hermann Bp 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.

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. Hermann Bp 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. Hermann Bp 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.

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. Hermann Bp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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 Hermann Bp 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hermann Bp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hermann Bp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.

Buying journey improvements

– Hermann Bp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hermann Bp 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, Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Developing new processes and practices

– Hermann Bp 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.

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Threats Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

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

Regulatory challenges

– Hermann Bp 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann, Hermann Bp 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 .

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.

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 Hermann Bp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Hermann Bp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Hermann Bp in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing wage structure of Hermann Bp

– 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 Hermann Bp.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hermann Bp 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Hermann Bp is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Hermann Bp 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hermann Bp 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann .

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Hermann Bp.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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 Human Resource Management in a Global Environment: Keys for Personal and Organizational Success: An Interview with Eliza Hermann 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 Hermann Bp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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