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The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence


For nearly two decades, the leading evidence on hormone therapy was based on findings from observational studies like the Nurses' Health Study. In 1985, researchers at Nurses' Health Study confirmed that postmenopausal women who took estrogen had lower rates of heart disease than women who had never taken the hormone. These influential findings helped drive the surge in hormone prescriptions in the 1980s and 1990s. But in 2002, in a stunning turnaround, researchers for a randomized clinical trial called the Women's Health Initiative reported that hormone therapy, in fact, increased the risk of heart disease and stroke among postmenopausal women. Almost overnight, prescriptions for hormone treatment plummeted. For millions of women who were either abruptly taken off hormones or denied treatment, though, the feeling of confusion and anguish remained. At the heart of the hormone therapy controversy was the fact that two different research approaches-observational studies and randomized experiments-had arrived at diametrically opposite results, once again raising questions about what constituted reliable evidence. Case Number 2005.0

Authors :: Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Health, Market research, Policy, Research & development, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence" written by Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hormone Therapy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Market research, Policy, Research & development and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hormone Therapy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hormone Therapy 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hormone Therapy
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 Hormone Therapy




Strengths The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Hormone Therapy in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence Harvard Business Review case study are -

Analytics focus

– Hormone Therapy 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 Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Hormone Therapy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hormone Therapy 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.

Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hormone Therapy digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hormone Therapy 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

– Hormone Therapy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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

– Hormone Therapy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hormone Therapy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Training and development

– Hormone Therapy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hormone Therapy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hormone Therapy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- Hormone Therapy 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 Hormone Therapy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Hormone Therapy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Hormone Therapy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Organizational Resilience of Hormone Therapy

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hormone Therapy 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 Hormone Therapy 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.






Weaknesses The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence are -

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hormone Therapy 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, Hormone Therapy 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Hormone Therapy 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence, it seems that the employees of Hormone Therapy don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence, 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hormone Therapy is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence HBR case study mentions - Hormone Therapy 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Hormone Therapy 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 cash cycle compare to competitors

Hormone Therapy 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Hormone Therapy 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 - The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hormone Therapy 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence | 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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. Hormone Therapy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Buying journey improvements

– Hormone Therapy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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.

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 Hormone Therapy in the consumer business. Now Hormone Therapy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Hormone Therapy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hormone Therapy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence case study. Hormone Therapy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hormone Therapy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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.

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 Hormone Therapy 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hormone Therapy to increase its market reach. Hormone Therapy 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hormone Therapy 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Hormone Therapy 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Hormone Therapy can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hormone Therapy 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 Hormone Therapy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Hormone Therapy 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hormone Therapy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hormone Therapy 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.




Threats The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence are -

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hormone Therapy 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence .

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. Hormone Therapy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Hormone Therapy 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hormone Therapy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Hormone Therapy.

Increasing wage structure of Hormone Therapy

– 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 Hormone Therapy.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hormone Therapy 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Hormone Therapy 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.

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 Hormone Therapy in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Hormone Therapy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Environmental challenges

– Hormone Therapy 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. Hormone Therapy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Hormone Therapy 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 The Hormone Therapy Controversy: What Makes Reliable Evidence 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 Hormone Therapy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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