Case Study Description of Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owned a 168-year-old British tabloid, News of the World, which obtained its juiciest stories by illegally hacking the phones of many people, including actors, celebrities and prime ministers. Murdoch shut down the paper following the disclosure of the scandal. A Parliamentary investigation showed the phone hacking practice was widespread and supported at the top of the organization. Was this scandal a failure of governance by the board, or was it only a failure of management?
Swot Analysis of "Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation" written by Harold Weston includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hacking Murdoch's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hacking Murdoch's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hacking Murdoch's 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hacking Murdoch's
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 Hacking Murdoch's
Strengths Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hacking Murdoch's in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Hacking Murdoch's 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 Hacking Murdoch's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hacking Murdoch's 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Hacking Murdoch's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hacking Murdoch's 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Hacking Murdoch's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hacking Murdoch's 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 Hacking Murdoch's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hacking Murdoch's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hacking Murdoch's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Hacking Murdoch's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hacking Murdoch's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hacking Murdoch's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hacking Murdoch's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hacking Murdoch's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Weaknesses Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Hacking Murdoch's 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hacking Murdoch's 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Hacking Murdoch's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hacking Murdoch's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hacking Murdoch's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, it seems that the employees of Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hacking Murdoch's 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 - Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Hacking Murdoch's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hacking Murdoch's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hacking Murdoch's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hacking Murdoch's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hacking Murdoch's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hacking Murdoch's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hacking Murdoch's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation | 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hacking Murdoch's to increase its market reach. Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hacking Murdoch's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hacking Murdoch's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hacking Murdoch's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hacking Murdoch's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation case study. Hacking Murdoch's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hacking Murdoch's 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
– Hacking Murdoch's 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hacking Murdoch's 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. Hacking Murdoch's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Hacking Murdoch's 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
– Hacking Murdoch's 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.
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 Hacking Murdoch's in the consumer business. Now Hacking Murdoch's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hacking Murdoch's 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
– Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Threats Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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. Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hacking Murdoch's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hacking Murdoch's 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation .
Environmental challenges
– Hacking Murdoch's 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. Hacking Murdoch's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, Hacking Murdoch's 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 .
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. Hacking Murdoch's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Hacking Murdoch's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hacking Murdoch's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hacking Murdoch's 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 Hacking Murdoch's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hacking Murdoch's 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Phone Hacking and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation 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 Hacking Murdoch's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
