JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment
Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate organizations since inception, the U.S. and international JA operations were formally combined on July 1, 2004. Although all the leaders recognized the need for the merger, the process nevertheless proved to be highly sensitive and complex. As part of the compromise, all parties agreed to freeze the JA Worldwide structure for three years. By the end of that period, Chernow knows he must have in place a new model of operations that can accomplish three things: meet JA's mission in terms of its students, serve the internal needs of its members around the world, and be financially sustainable over the long term.
Authors :: Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson
Topics :: Leadership & Managing People
Tags :: Change management, International business, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment" written by Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ja Worldwide facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, International business, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption,
there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ja Worldwide, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ja Worldwide
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 Ja Worldwide
Strengths JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ja Worldwide in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ja Worldwide is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ja Worldwide has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ja Worldwide 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ja Worldwide in the sector have low bargaining power. JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ja Worldwide to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Ja Worldwide is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 brand equity
– Ja Worldwide has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ja Worldwide to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Ja Worldwide has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Learning organization
- Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
Need for greater diversity
– Ja Worldwide 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Ja Worldwide has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 Ja Worldwide has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ja Worldwide is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ja Worldwide needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ja Worldwide to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ja Worldwide is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ja Worldwide 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ja Worldwide 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.
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 Ja Worldwide supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ja Worldwide vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ja Worldwide 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. Ja Worldwide 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 Ja Worldwide 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, 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.
Opportunities JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ja Worldwide has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ja Worldwide to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study. Ja Worldwide can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ja Worldwide 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ja Worldwide 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ja Worldwide to increase its market reach. Ja Worldwide 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ja Worldwide can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ja Worldwide operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ja Worldwide 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ja Worldwide 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, JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Ja Worldwide can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ja Worldwide is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ja Worldwide can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, Ja Worldwide 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 .
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 Ja Worldwide.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ja Worldwide 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ja Worldwide 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.
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. Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ja Worldwide has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ja Worldwide 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment .
Environmental challenges
– Ja Worldwide 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. Ja Worldwide can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Ja Worldwide business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ja Worldwide is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 Ja Worldwide needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
