Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed
On July 16, 2014, the finance manager of the Powertrain Department in the Whitby, Ontario branch of Astra Automotive, a global automotive parts manufacturer, was summoned to a meeting. He had been with the company for 11 years, steadily rising through the ranks because of his analytical capabilities, grasp of business complexities and intense work ethic. He was ambitious and driven to succeed; as a result, he was sometimes perceived as unnecessarily harsh and somewhat disrespectful toward colleagues and those under him when mistakes were made. He had been in his present role for just over a year, and though the company was pleased with his results, they were insistent that he enrol in training to help him better lead his department and staff. Overcome with preparing for a major presentation, he neglected to do so. As a result, he was suspended with pay for one week for allegedly not treating a colleague with respect. Now, his director, the Canadian president of operations and the human resources manager were waiting to give him the bad news: he was being fired.
Swot Analysis of "Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed" written by Gerard Seijts, Kanina Blanchard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Automotive Boulos facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Professional transitions and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Automotive Boulos, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Automotive Boulos 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Automotive Boulos
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 Automotive Boulos
Strengths Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Automotive Boulos in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Automotive Boulos to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Automotive Boulos to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Automotive Boulos are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Automotive Boulos 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 Automotive Boulos is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Automotive Boulos 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 Automotive Boulos
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Automotive Boulos does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Automotive Boulos has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Automotive Boulos in the sector have low bargaining power. Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Automotive Boulos to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Automotive Boulos 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 Gerard Seijts, Kanina Blanchard 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Automotive Boulos in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Automotive Boulos 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Automotive Boulos is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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.
Weaknesses Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Automotive Boulos 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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Automotive Boulos supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Automotive Boulos vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Automotive Boulos is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gerard Seijts, Kanina Blanchard suggests that, Automotive Boulos is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed, 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Automotive Boulos is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Automotive Boulos is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Automotive Boulos needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Automotive Boulos to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Automotive Boulos 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Automotive Boulos 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Automotive Boulos products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Automotive Boulos needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Automotive Boulos 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.
Opportunities Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed | 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed are -
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 Automotive Boulos 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 Automotive Boulos in the consumer business. Now Automotive Boulos can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Automotive Boulos 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Automotive Boulos to increase its market reach. Automotive Boulos 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.
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. Automotive Boulos 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
– Automotive Boulos 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Automotive Boulos to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Automotive Boulos can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Automotive Boulos operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Automotive Boulos can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Automotive Boulos 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Automotive Boulos 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Automotive Boulos 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, Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Automotive Boulos 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. Automotive Boulos 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Automotive Boulos 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed are -
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 Automotive Boulos.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Automotive Boulos 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Automotive Boulos is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Automotive Boulos 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. Automotive Boulos can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Automotive Boulos has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Automotive Boulos 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.
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.
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. Automotive Boulos can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Automotive Boulos 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.
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. Automotive Boulos 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Automotive Boulos 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Automotive Boulos 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.
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 Automotive Boulos business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Michael Boulos: A Career Derailed 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 Automotive Boulos needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.