Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program
The world had changed as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Canada was engaged in the Afghanistan War, and the first casualties were being felt. It was November 28, 2005, as Rene LaRose, the director general of Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) Toronto, sat in his office preparing for an all-staff briefing the following day. He knew that for his research institute to remain relevant and be a major contributor to the emerging needs of the Canadian Forces and national security in this rapidly changing landscape, a major transformation of his centre was required. The Canadian Forces was undergoing its own metamorphosis under its new Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, and DRDC Toronto needed to be in synch with this development. LaRose had spent several years trying to convey the message that profound changes at DRDC Toronto were needed - changes that were as much cultural as they were structural. The sense of urgency was now acute with Canada at war, and DRDC Toronto was poised to embark on a major organizational alignment program.
Swot Analysis of "Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program" written by Gerard Seijts, Helen Wojcinski includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Drdc Toronto facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Drdc Toronto, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Drdc Toronto 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Drdc Toronto
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 Drdc Toronto
Strengths Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Drdc Toronto in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Drdc Toronto to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Drdc Toronto to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Drdc Toronto digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Drdc Toronto 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 brand equity
– Drdc Toronto has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Drdc Toronto to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Drdc Toronto 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program - 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
– Drdc Toronto has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Drdc Toronto is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Drdc Toronto 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Drdc Toronto 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 Drdc Toronto in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Drdc Toronto is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Drdc Toronto in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Drdc Toronto is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Drdc Toronto 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program, in the dynamic environment Drdc Toronto has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Drdc Toronto has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gerard Seijts, Helen Wojcinski suggests that, Drdc Toronto 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Drdc Toronto 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Drdc Toronto is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Drdc Toronto needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Drdc Toronto to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Drdc Toronto 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program, it seems that the employees of Drdc Toronto 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program HBR case study mentions - Drdc Toronto 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Drdc Toronto is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Drdc Toronto 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.
Opportunities Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program | 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program are -
Manufacturing automation
– Drdc Toronto can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
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 Drdc Toronto in the consumer business. Now Drdc Toronto can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Drdc Toronto 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Drdc Toronto can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Drdc Toronto has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Drdc Toronto to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program case study. Drdc Toronto can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Drdc Toronto can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Drdc Toronto 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 Drdc Toronto 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 Drdc Toronto can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Drdc Toronto 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Drdc Toronto 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Drdc Toronto 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Drdc Toronto to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Drdc Toronto is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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
– Drdc Toronto 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.
Threats Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program are -
Increasing wage structure of Drdc Toronto
– 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 Drdc Toronto.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Drdc Toronto with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Drdc Toronto is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Drdc Toronto in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Drdc Toronto 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Drdc Toronto 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.
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. Drdc Toronto 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.
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 Drdc Toronto.
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
– Drdc Toronto 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Drdc Toronto 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program, Drdc Toronto 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto (A): The Organizational Alignment Program 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 Drdc Toronto needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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