Case Study Description of Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices
Greenbriar Growth Partners (GGP), a venture capital firm, has been an investor in Microsurgery Devices (MSD) for four-plus years, and has come into conflict with the company's founder. Should the Board's Nominating Committee re-nominate the VC investor, and should the board go along with the VC's push for a stock buy-back in the midst of the financial crisis, and so soon after the company's IPO?
Swot Analysis of "Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices" written by Nabil N. El-Hage, Kristin Meyer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Greenbriar Microsurgery facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, IPO and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Greenbriar Microsurgery, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Greenbriar Microsurgery
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 Greenbriar Microsurgery
Strengths Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Greenbriar Microsurgery in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Greenbriar Microsurgery is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Nabil N. El-Hage, Kristin Meyer 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Greenbriar Microsurgery digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Greenbriar Microsurgery in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Greenbriar Microsurgery is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Greenbriar Microsurgery has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Greenbriar Microsurgery is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Greenbriar Microsurgery is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices - 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
- Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Greenbriar Microsurgery is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Greenbriar Microsurgery needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Greenbriar Microsurgery to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices, is just above the industry average. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 - Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nabil N. El-Hage, Kristin Meyer suggests that, Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices HBR case study mentions - Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Greenbriar Microsurgery is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Greenbriar Microsurgery supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Greenbriar Microsurgery vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices | 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices are -
Buying journey improvements
– Greenbriar Microsurgery can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Greenbriar Microsurgery 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, Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Greenbriar Microsurgery is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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.
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 Greenbriar Microsurgery in the consumer business. Now Greenbriar Microsurgery can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Greenbriar Microsurgery can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Greenbriar Microsurgery operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
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. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
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. Greenbriar Microsurgery can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices .
Regulatory challenges
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Greenbriar Microsurgery can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
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 Greenbriar Microsurgery in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
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. Greenbriar Microsurgery needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Greenbriar Microsurgery 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
– Greenbriar Microsurgery 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. Greenbriar Microsurgery can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Greenbriar Microsurgery 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.
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 Greenbriar Microsurgery.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices 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 Greenbriar Microsurgery needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.