Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance
This two-part case study describes the initial merger and cultural transformation of Aviva's Norwich Union (NUI) operation in the UK. It examines the complexities of integration that arose following a series of mergers that created NUI from 1998 to 2000. Case A describes how, after CGU Plc and Norwich Union joined forces to become NUI, top management's priority was to restore profits. Behind the scenes, however, the need for a whole new corporate culture was becoming increasingly imperative. It shows the tension between the need for immediate gains in efficiencies vs. longer-term approaches to the business that required careful nurturing and attention. It ends as the executive team's announcement of the new corporate philosophy - "to be a service provider with insurance at our core and care at our heart" - is greeted with complete disbelief by employees. Case B describes the actions taken to overcome their skepticism and successfully implement the new philosophy - actions that required significant change to the organisational culture.
Swot Analysis of "Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance" written by D. Charles Galunic, Anne-Marie Carrick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Norwich Nui facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Growth strategy, International business, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, Organizational culture, Strategy execution and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Norwich Nui, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Norwich Nui 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Norwich Nui
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 Norwich Nui
Strengths Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Norwich Nui in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Norwich Nui in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Norwich Nui to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Norwich Nui
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Norwich Nui 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 Norwich Nui 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Norwich Nui 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
– Norwich Nui 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 Norwich Nui in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Norwich Nui 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Norwich Nui is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Norwich Nui to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Norwich Nui to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Norwich Nui is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Norwich Nui is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Norwich Nui 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 Norwich Nui is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Norwich Nui 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Norwich Nui 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Norwich Nui 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 - Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Norwich Nui, firm in the HBR case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Norwich Nui is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Norwich Nui needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Norwich Nui to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance, is just above the industry average. Norwich Nui 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance, in the dynamic environment Norwich Nui has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Norwich Nui 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, Norwich Nui 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Norwich Nui 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Norwich Nui products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Norwich Nui needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance | 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance are -
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. Norwich Nui 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. Norwich Nui 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Norwich Nui has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Norwich Nui to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study. Norwich Nui can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Norwich Nui 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Norwich Nui can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
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. Norwich Nui can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Norwich Nui can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Norwich Nui is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Norwich Nui 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Norwich Nui 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 Norwich Nui to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Norwich Nui 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, Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Norwich Nui to increase its market reach. Norwich Nui 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Norwich Nui 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Norwich Nui to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Norwich Nui 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.
Threats Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance are -
Environmental challenges
– Norwich Nui 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. Norwich Nui can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Norwich Nui 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. Norwich Nui can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Norwich Nui
– 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 Norwich Nui.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Norwich Nui with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Norwich Nui 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. Norwich Nui needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Norwich Nui can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Norwich Nui has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Norwich Nui 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.
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 Norwich Nui business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Norwich Nui 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Leadership, Culture Change and Transformation at AVIVA (B): Norwich Union Insurance 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 Norwich Nui needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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