To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2)
This case study tells the story of San Jose, California, one of the first 27 cities in the country to participate in a federal domestic preparedness program. Between 1997 and 1999, a specially created city task force mounted several full-scale terrorist attack exercises, but-despite the best of intentions-found all of them frustrating, demoralizing, and divisive, creating ill will between the exercise planners and the first responders. In response, the San Jose task force took a step back and analyzed their situation. In place of traditional full-scale exercises, San Jose drew on several existing prototypes to create a new "facilitated exercise" model that emphasized teaching over testing, and was much better received by first responders. For teaching flexibility, the case has been divided into three parts. Sequel 2 is a continuation of both the main case study and Sequel 1(1815.0; 1815.1) and is designed as a "take away," to be given out at the end of class. It includes the reflections of the emergency service providers in San Jose about the facilitated exercise model. It would also be possible assign students to read all three parts before class, and to hold a retrospective discussion about how San Jose analyzed and responded to its problem. Funding provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. HKS Case Number 1816.1
Swot Analysis of "To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2)" written by Pamela Varley, Arnold Howitt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Jose San facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Project management, Risk management, Security & privacy, Strategic planning, Workspaces and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jose San, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jose San 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jose San
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 Jose San
Strengths To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jose San in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Jose San has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Jose San 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.
High brand equity
– Jose San has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Jose San to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jose San in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Jose San is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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
– Jose San 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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
– Jose San 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 Jose San in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Jose San 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Jose San is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Jose San 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 Jose San is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Jose San
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Jose San does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Jose San has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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.
Weaknesses To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) HBR case study mentions - Jose San 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2), in the dynamic environment Jose San has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Jose San has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Jose San is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2), is just above the industry average. Jose San needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Jose San products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Jose San needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Jose San supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Jose San vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Jose San 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Jose San 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 Jose San has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jose San 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Jose San needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) | 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Jose San has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Jose San to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) case study. Jose San can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Jose San 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, To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Jose San can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Jose San can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Manufacturing automation
– Jose San 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jose San to increase its market reach. Jose San 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jose San 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jose San 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.
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. Jose San can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jose San can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jose San operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jose San 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Jose San 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 Jose San to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Jose San 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Jose San 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2), Jose San 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Jose San 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. Jose San can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Jose San.
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.
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 Jose San in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Jose San with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Jose San 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) .
Increasing wage structure of Jose San
– 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 Jose San.
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 Jose San business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Jose San high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology 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
– Jose San has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jose San 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.
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. Jose San can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 To What End? Re-thinking Terrorist Attack Exercises in San Jose (Sequel 2) 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 Jose San needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
