The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation
On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected legal challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as 'Obamacare,' by a vote of 5-4. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), a majority of the justices affirmed Congress's power to expand Medicaid and impose an individual mandate requiring people to obtain health insurance or face increasing tax penalties. The Court's decision was widely condemned as a dramatic expansion of federal power that threatened state sovereignty and individual liberty. The Court was heavily criticized for betraying the principles of federalism and limited government in the U.S. Constitution. The harshest criticism was reserved for Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican appointee who--though considered a conservative justice--authored the Court's opinion and cast the critical deciding vote to uphold the Act. In reality, far from dramatically expanding federal power, the Court's decision placed groundbreaking limits on Congress's power to regulate commerce and use federal funds to pressure states into doing its bidding. These aspects of the Court's decision received less attention in the popular media, but may actually prove to have a more significant impact on the scope of federal regulation in the future. This installment of Business Law & Ethics Corner explains how those aspects of the Court's decision place new limits on the nature and scope of federal regulation.
Swot Analysis of "The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation" written by Timothy A Lemper includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Court's Federal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Court's Federal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Court's Federal 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Court's Federal
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 Court's Federal
Strengths The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Court's Federal in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Court's Federal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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.
Learning organization
- Court's Federal 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 Court's Federal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Court's Federal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Court's Federal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Court's Federal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Court's Federal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Court's Federal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Court's Federal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Court's Federal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Court's Federal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Court's Federal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Court's Federal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Court's Federal 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Court's Federal 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 The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Court's Federal 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 Timothy A Lemper 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.
Weaknesses The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Court's Federal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Court's Federal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Court's Federal 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Court's Federal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Court's Federal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Court's Federal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Court's Federal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Court's Federal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Court's Federal 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation, is just above the industry average. Court's Federal 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation, 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Court's Federal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Court's Federal 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation HBR case study mentions - Court's Federal 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 The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation | 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Court's Federal can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Court's Federal can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Court's Federal 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Court's Federal 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Court's Federal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Court's Federal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Court's Federal 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.
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 Court's Federal in the consumer business. Now Court's Federal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Court's Federal 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Court's Federal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Court's Federal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Court's Federal 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 Court's Federal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Court's Federal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Court's Federal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation case study. Court's Federal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Court's Federal 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Court's Federal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Court's Federal 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 The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation are -
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. Court's Federal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation, Court's Federal 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. Court's Federal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Court's Federal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Court's Federal 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, Court's Federal 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Court's Federal 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Court's Federal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Court's Federal 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.
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. Court's Federal 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.
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 Court's Federal.
Increasing wage structure of Court's Federal
– 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 Court's Federal.
Environmental challenges
– Court's Federal 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. Court's Federal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Supreme Struggle: 'Obamacare' and the New Limits of Federal Regulation 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 Court's Federal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.