Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004)
Dr. Bradford Shingleton has developed some of the highest quality eye surgery techniques in the industry. He involves his nurses and technicians in creating a surgical service that is constantly improving. The case has many details about how Dr. Shingleton works with his staff and patients, and how the provider team focuses on patient care. A key measure of productivity for the surgery center is the time required in the operating room. Shingleton's numbers are impressive as they decrease each year. The business context relates to the particular patients, mostly require cataract or glaucoma surgery and the payer is Medicare/Medicaid, which regulates the price. Yearly decreasing prices make it more difficult for doctors to earn a good income unless they improve their productivity. Other surgeons in the practice do not copy Dr. Shingleton's practices nor use his trained surgical team. The dilemma relates to why his methods do not spread to other doctors and other clinics.
Swot Analysis of "Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004)" written by H. Kent Bowen, Marcelo Pancotto includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Shingleton Shingleton's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shingleton Shingleton's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shingleton Shingleton'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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shingleton Shingleton'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 Shingleton Shingleton's
Strengths Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shingleton Shingleton's in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shingleton Shingleton's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Shingleton Shingleton's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shingleton Shingleton's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Shingleton Shingleton'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 Shingleton Shingleton's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Shingleton Shingleton'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 Shingleton Shingleton's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shingleton Shingleton's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shingleton Shingleton's 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Shingleton Shingleton's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shingleton Shingleton's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shingleton Shingleton's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shingleton Shingleton's in the sector have low bargaining power. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shingleton Shingleton's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Shingleton Shingleton's 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shingleton Shingleton's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004), in the dynamic environment Shingleton Shingleton's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shingleton Shingleton's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shingleton Shingleton'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. Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004), 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004), is just above the industry average. Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Shingleton Shingleton's, firm in the HBR case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shingleton Shingleton's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) HBR case study mentions - Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Opportunities Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) | 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shingleton Shingleton's 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shingleton Shingleton's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Shingleton Shingleton's 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.
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. Shingleton Shingleton's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Shingleton Shingleton's in the consumer business. Now Shingleton Shingleton's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shingleton Shingleton'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.
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 Shingleton Shingleton'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.
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. Shingleton Shingleton's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shingleton Shingleton's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shingleton Shingleton's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shingleton Shingleton's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Shingleton Shingleton's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shingleton Shingleton's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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.
Threats Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) are -
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. Shingleton Shingleton's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Shingleton Shingleton's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Shingleton Shingleton'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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Increasing wage structure of Shingleton Shingleton'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 Shingleton Shingleton's.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Shingleton Shingleton's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Shingleton Shingleton's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shingleton Shingleton's 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004), Shingleton Shingleton'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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shingleton Shingleton'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, Shingleton Shingleton'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.
Environmental challenges
– Shingleton Shingleton'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. Shingleton Shingleton's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shingleton Shingleton's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shingleton Shingleton'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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004) 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 Shingleton Shingleton's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
