Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition
In January 2009, Pfizer announced its acquisition of Wyeth in a cash and stock deal valued at $68 billion. This deal represented the first mega-acquisition since the world economic crisis, which began in September 2008. Jeff Kindler knew that the last acquisition (Pharmacia in 2003) had not gone as planned. Was Pfizer prepared for the Wyeth acquisition? Would it solve some of Pfizer's pressing problems or create new ones?
Swot Analysis of "Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition" written by Michael Rouse, Chander Sehgal includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wyeth Pfizer facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wyeth Pfizer, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wyeth Pfizer 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wyeth Pfizer
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 Wyeth Pfizer
Strengths Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wyeth Pfizer in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Wyeth Pfizer has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wyeth Pfizer to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Organizational Resilience of Wyeth Pfizer
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wyeth Pfizer does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Wyeth Pfizer has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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.
Analytics focus
– Wyeth Pfizer 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 Michael Rouse, Chander Sehgal 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wyeth Pfizer in the sector have low bargaining power. Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wyeth Pfizer to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Wyeth Pfizer 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 Wyeth Pfizer in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wyeth Pfizer in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wyeth Pfizer 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Wyeth Pfizer 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 Wyeth Pfizer is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wyeth Pfizer to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wyeth Pfizer to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition, is just above the industry average. Wyeth Pfizer 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Wyeth Pfizer 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wyeth Pfizer 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 - Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wyeth Pfizer products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wyeth Pfizer needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wyeth Pfizer, firm in the HBR case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Wyeth Pfizer 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Wyeth Pfizer has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition, it seems that the employees of Wyeth Pfizer 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wyeth Pfizer has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wyeth Pfizer is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Wyeth Pfizer needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wyeth Pfizer to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Wyeth Pfizer 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. Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Opportunities Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition | 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wyeth Pfizer 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wyeth Pfizer to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wyeth Pfizer can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Wyeth Pfizer can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wyeth Pfizer to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wyeth Pfizer can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wyeth Pfizer operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Wyeth Pfizer can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Wyeth Pfizer in the consumer business. Now Wyeth Pfizer can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wyeth Pfizer 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 Wyeth Pfizer to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Threats Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition are -
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. Wyeth Pfizer will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Wyeth Pfizer business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Wyeth Pfizer.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wyeth Pfizer 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition .
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 wage structure of Wyeth Pfizer
– 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 Wyeth Pfizer.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wyeth Pfizer is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Wyeth Pfizer in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wyeth Pfizer with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wyeth Pfizer has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wyeth Pfizer 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition, Wyeth Pfizer 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 .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Change at Pfizer: Jeff Kindler (B) The Wyeth Acquisition 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 Wyeth Pfizer needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
