NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better
NovaCare, a rehabilitation and employee-services comapny, has evolved over a 15-year period. Senior management believes that its success is largely due to its core values, which are shared on a daily basis and drive decisions. Operational and structural changes have also been made. As financial pressures increase, can these core values survive? What role do values play in the success of a company? A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Swot Analysis of "NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better" written by Diana Barrett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Novacare Values facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Novacare Values, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Novacare Values 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Novacare Values
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 Novacare Values
Strengths NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Novacare Values in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Novacare Values in the sector have low bargaining power. NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Novacare Values to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Novacare Values digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Novacare Values 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Novacare Values is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Novacare Values
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Novacare Values 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 Novacare Values 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Novacare Values to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Novacare Values to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Novacare Values has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Novacare Values has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Novacare Values 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Novacare Values is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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.
Training and development
– Novacare Values has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Novacare Values in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Novacare Values 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 Novacare Values is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Novacare Values 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Novacare Values 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better, is just above the industry average. Novacare Values 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Novacare Values 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better HBR case study mentions - Novacare Values 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
– Novacare Values 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Novacare Values is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Novacare Values needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Novacare Values to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Novacare Values 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Novacare Values 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 - NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better, in the dynamic environment Novacare Values has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Novacare Values has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Novacare Values is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better | 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Novacare Values 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Novacare Values 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Novacare Values can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Novacare Values can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Novacare Values 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Novacare Values to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Novacare Values can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Novacare Values to increase its market reach. Novacare Values 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Novacare Values 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Novacare Values can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Novacare Values 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 Novacare Values to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Novacare Values has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Novacare Values to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better case study. Novacare Values can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Novacare Values can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Novacare Values operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Novacare Values can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better, Novacare Values 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 .
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. Novacare Values can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Novacare Values in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Novacare Values has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Novacare Values 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
– Novacare Values 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. Novacare Values can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Novacare Values business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Novacare Values 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Novacare Values 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Novacare Values is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Novacare Values 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Novacare Values 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.
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. Novacare Values needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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 NovaCare, Inc.: Helping Make Life a Little Better 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 Novacare Values needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.