Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A)
Jill Greenthal, managing director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, is leading her team of investment bankers to negotiate on behalf of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) on a potential landmark deal with AT&T. Representing TCI in the negotiations is the culmination of relationships that Greenthal has nurtured over the course of a decade. Despite the best efforts of her team, negotiations appear poised on the edge of an impasse. Greenthal wonders what, if anything, her team can do to help find a better alternative.
Authors :: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp
Swot Analysis of "Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A)" written by Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Greenthal Tci facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Leadership, Supply chain and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Greenthal Tci, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Greenthal Tci
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 Greenthal Tci
Strengths Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Greenthal Tci in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Greenthal Tci is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Greenthal Tci
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Greenthal Tci does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Greenthal Tci 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Greenthal Tci to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Greenthal Tci to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Greenthal Tci is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Greenthal Tci in the sector have low bargaining power. Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Greenthal Tci to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Greenthal Tci is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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.
High brand equity
– Greenthal Tci has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Greenthal Tci to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Greenthal Tci 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 Greenthal Tci is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Greenthal Tci, firm in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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, Greenthal Tci is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), is just above the industry average. Greenthal Tci 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp suggests that, Greenthal Tci 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Greenthal Tci 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Greenthal Tci has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Greenthal Tci products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Greenthal Tci needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), it seems that the employees of Greenthal Tci 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Greenthal Tci has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Greenthal Tci 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Greenthal Tci 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.
Opportunities Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) | 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Greenthal Tci 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Greenthal Tci has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Greenthal Tci to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) case study. Greenthal Tci can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Greenthal Tci can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Greenthal Tci can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Greenthal Tci operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Greenthal Tci 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Greenthal Tci 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 Greenthal Tci to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Greenthal Tci can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Greenthal Tci to increase its market reach. Greenthal Tci 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.
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 Greenthal Tci in the consumer business. Now Greenthal Tci can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Greenthal Tci can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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.
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 Greenthal Tci 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Greenthal Tci 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
– Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) are -
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 Greenthal Tci.
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. Greenthal Tci can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), Greenthal Tci 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 wage structure of Greenthal Tci
– 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 Greenthal Tci.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Greenthal Tci high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Greenthal Tci has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Greenthal Tci 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 Greenthal Tci 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) .
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. Greenthal Tci 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Greenthal Tci 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.
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.
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 Greenthal Tci in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Greenthal Tci needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.