Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A)
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), a U.S. network of four privately owned oncology focused factory hospitals, was weighing options for growth. CTCA was entirely cancer focused and specialized in treating patients with complex and advanced-stage cancers, who were reached through advertising its integrative, team-based approach to care. CEO Stephen Bonner needed to decide whether to focus future expansion on building additional full-scale hospitals or pursuing a hub-and-spoke model, in which numerous oncology outpatient centers would be built in the region of each CTCA hospital. His decision would be made in the context of CTCA's unique business model and treatment philosophy and the public policy landscape, including certificate-of-need laws and the advent of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and bundled payments. CTCA's for-profit status and direct-to-consumer advertising made it a target, he knew.
Swot Analysis of "Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A)" written by Regina E. Herzlinger, Natalie Kindred includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ctca Ctca's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Decision making, Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Innovation, Intellectual property, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ctca Ctca's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ctca Ctca's 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 Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ctca Ctca's
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 Ctca Ctca's
Strengths Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ctca Ctca's in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Ctca Ctca's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ctca Ctca's 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 Ctca Ctca's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Ctca Ctca's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ctca Ctca's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ctca Ctca's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ctca Ctca's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) 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.
Learning organization
- Ctca Ctca's 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 Ctca Ctca's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ctca Ctca's in the sector have low bargaining power. Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ctca Ctca's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ctca Ctca's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ctca Ctca's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ctca Ctca's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Ctca Ctca's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ctca Ctca's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Ctca Ctca's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ctca Ctca's 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 Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Ctca Ctca's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ctca Ctca's 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ctca Ctca's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential 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 Ctca Ctca's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ctca Ctca's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Regina E. Herzlinger, Natalie Kindred suggests that, Ctca Ctca's 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ctca Ctca's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ctca Ctca's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ctca Ctca's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ctca Ctca's 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. Ctca Ctca's 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 Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) 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 Ctca Ctca's 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) HBR case study mentions - Ctca Ctca's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Opportunities Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ctca Ctca's to increase its market reach. Ctca Ctca's 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.
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. Ctca Ctca's 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. Ctca Ctca's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ctca Ctca's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ctca Ctca's 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
– Ctca Ctca's 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ctca Ctca's 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ctca Ctca's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Ctca Ctca's 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
– Ctca Ctca's 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, Ctca Ctca's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ctca Ctca's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ctca Ctca's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ctca Ctca's 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ctca Ctca's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ctca Ctca's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Ctca Ctca's 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. Ctca Ctca's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ctca Ctca's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ctca Ctca's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ctca Ctca's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ctca Ctca's 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. Ctca Ctca's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Ctca Ctca's
– 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 Ctca Ctca's.
Regulatory challenges
– Ctca Ctca's 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.
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. Ctca Ctca's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ctca Ctca's 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 Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) .
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A), Ctca Ctca's 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 .
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 Ctca Ctca's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaA? (A) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Ctca Ctca's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
