Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis
On October 21, 2001, a postal worker from a mail sorting facility in Washington, DC, died of inhalation anthrax-a disease virtually unseen for a century. The next day, a second employee from the same facility died. Fear of anthrax had already infected the public: media workers in Florida and New York City had contracted the disease. In addition, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) had received an anthrax-laden letter, his staff were all on antibiotics, and the Senate and House of Representatives buildings had closed for anthrax tests. This new threat re-ignited a sense of public panic. Virtually overnight, the United States Postal Service (USPS) found itself at the eye of a national security and public health storm. This case discusses how the USPS dealt with the anthrax crisis. HKS Case Number 1692.0.
Swot Analysis of "Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis" written by Arnold Howitt, Kirsten Lundberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Anthrax Postal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Operations management, Security & privacy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Anthrax Postal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Anthrax Postal 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Anthrax Postal
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 Anthrax Postal
Strengths Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Anthrax Postal in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Anthrax Postal 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.
Training and development
– Anthrax Postal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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.
Organizational Resilience of Anthrax Postal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Anthrax Postal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Anthrax Postal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Anthrax Postal 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.
Analytics focus
– Anthrax Postal 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 Arnold Howitt, Kirsten Lundberg 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
– Anthrax Postal 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 Anthrax Postal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Anthrax Postal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Anthrax Postal 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 Anthrax Postal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Anthrax Postal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Anthrax Postal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Anthrax Postal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Anthrax Postal 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Anthrax Postal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Anthrax Postal 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis HBR case study mentions - Anthrax Postal takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Anthrax Postal, firm in the HBR case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Anthrax Postal 's lucrative customers.
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 Anthrax Postal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Anthrax Postal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Anthrax Postal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Anthrax Postal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Anthrax Postal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Anthrax Postal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Anthrax Postal 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. Anthrax Postal 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Anthrax Postal 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis, in the dynamic environment Anthrax Postal has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Anthrax Postal has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis | 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Anthrax Postal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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
– Anthrax Postal 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Anthrax Postal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Anthrax Postal 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Anthrax Postal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Anthrax Postal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis case study. Anthrax Postal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Anthrax Postal 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.
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 Anthrax Postal 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Anthrax Postal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Anthrax Postal 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.
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 Anthrax Postal in the consumer business. Now Anthrax Postal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Anthrax Postal 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 Anthrax Postal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Anthrax Postal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Anthrax Postal 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Anthrax Postal can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis are -
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. Anthrax Postal 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.
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 Anthrax Postal in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Anthrax Postal is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Anthrax Postal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Anthrax Postal 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.
Environmental challenges
– Anthrax Postal 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. Anthrax Postal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Anthrax Postal 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. Anthrax Postal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Anthrax Postal 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.
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. Anthrax Postal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Anthrax Postal 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis, Anthrax Postal 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Charting a Course in a Storm: US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis 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 Anthrax Postal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
