Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B)
The intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) business at Carl Zeiss Meditec had struggled with growth since the time of the (A) case. Though the unit had grown revenues in excess of 50% and had exceeded its EBIT target, it faced several key strategic choices. Should it continue to specialize in the breast cancer segment, or should it focus more on surgery with radiotherapy as one technical solution. Should it continue its focus on more mature markets, or should it be making focused investments in emerging markets? The (A) case poses IORT as a disruptive technology, and the (B) case offers the instructor an opportunity to gauge the progress the protagonist has made in applying that framework.
Swot Analysis of "Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B)" written by Willy Shih includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Radiotherapy Iort facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial management, Growth strategy, Health, IT and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Radiotherapy Iort, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Radiotherapy Iort 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Radiotherapy Iort
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 Radiotherapy Iort
Strengths Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Radiotherapy Iort in Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Radiotherapy Iort has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Organizational Resilience of Radiotherapy Iort
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Radiotherapy Iort 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 Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Radiotherapy Iort is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Radiotherapy Iort is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Radiotherapy Iort in the sector have low bargaining power. Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Radiotherapy Iort to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Radiotherapy Iort to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Radiotherapy Iort to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Radiotherapy Iort 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 Radiotherapy Iort in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Radiotherapy Iort digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Radiotherapy Iort is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Radiotherapy Iort is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Willy Shih can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Weaknesses Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Radiotherapy Iort is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Radiotherapy Iort is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Radiotherapy Iort needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Radiotherapy Iort to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) HBR case study mentions - Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Radiotherapy Iort products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Radiotherapy Iort needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Radiotherapy Iort 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Willy Shih suggests that, Radiotherapy Iort 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Radiotherapy Iort 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) | 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) are -
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. Radiotherapy Iort can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Radiotherapy Iort can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Radiotherapy Iort operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Radiotherapy Iort 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 Radiotherapy Iort to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Radiotherapy Iort 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.
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 Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Radiotherapy Iort 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.
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. Radiotherapy Iort can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Radiotherapy Iort 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Radiotherapy Iort to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Radiotherapy Iort can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Radiotherapy Iort can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Radiotherapy Iort has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Radiotherapy Iort to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) case study. Radiotherapy Iort can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) are -
Environmental challenges
– Radiotherapy Iort 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. Radiotherapy Iort can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Radiotherapy Iort needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Radiotherapy Iort.
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. Radiotherapy Iort 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.
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 Radiotherapy Iort business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Radiotherapy Iort can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Radiotherapy Iort
– 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 Radiotherapy Iort.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Radiotherapy Iort 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.
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 Radiotherapy Iort in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Radiotherapy Iort 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Radiotherapy Iort 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Radiotherapy Iort with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B) 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 Radiotherapy Iort needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
