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 - – technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, 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 -
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.
Training and development
– Greenthal Tci has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Greenthal Tci digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Greenthal Tci 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.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Greenthal Tci has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Greenthal Tci has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– 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.
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.
Analytics focus
– Greenthal Tci 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 Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Greenthal Tci 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 Greenthal Tci in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Greenthal Tci is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Greenthal Tci 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 - Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Greenthal Tci 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), in the dynamic environment Greenthal Tci has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Greenthal Tci has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Greenthal Tci 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.
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.
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.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Greenthal Tci can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Greenthal Tci can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Greenthal Tci 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, Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (A), 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
– 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 -
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Greenthal Tci 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Greenthal Tci with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Greenthal Tci 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. Greenthal Tci can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
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 Greenthal Tci business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Greenthal Tci 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Greenthal Tci is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.