Swot Analysis of "Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak" written by Elizabeth A. Powell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Courage Speak facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Courage Speak, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Courage Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Courage Speak
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Courage Speak
Strengths Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Courage Speak in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Courage Speak is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Courage Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Courage Speak 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Courage Speak 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Courage Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Courage Speak to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Courage Speak to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Courage Speak 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Courage Speak is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Courage Speak digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Courage Speak 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Courage Speak in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Courage Speak to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Courage Speak is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Courage Speak is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Courage Speak needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Courage Speak to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak HBR case study mentions - Courage Speak 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Courage Speak 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Courage Speak 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Courage Speak, firm in the HBR case study Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Courage Speak has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Courage Speak 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 - Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Courage Speak 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Courage Speak is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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, Elizabeth A. Powell suggests that, Courage Speak 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Courage Speak products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Courage Speak needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak | 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Communication industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Courage Speak 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. Courage Speak 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, Courage Speak 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.
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 Courage Speak 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Courage Speak 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, Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Courage Speak 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 Communication segment.
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 Courage Speak in the consumer business. Now Courage Speak can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Courage Speak can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Courage Speak to increase its market reach. Courage Speak 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Courage Speak has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Courage Speak to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak case study. Courage Speak can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Courage Speak can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Courage Speak operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Courage Speak can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Courage Speak can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communication 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Courage Speak can develop new processes and procedures in Communication 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak are -
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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Courage Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Courage Speak 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. Courage Speak can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
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 Courage Speak.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Courage Speak is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Courage Speak
– 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 Courage Speak.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Courage Speak has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communication industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Courage Speak needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communication 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.
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. Courage Speak needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak, Courage Speak may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communication .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Courage Speak 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Courage Speak 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 Courage Speak business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Leadership Presence and the Courage to Speak 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 Courage Speak needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
