Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos
Provides background biographical information on P. Roy Vagelos, chief executive officer of Merck Pharmaceuticals. Teaching Purpose: To chart the development of a leader in the pharmaceutical industry.
Swot Analysis of "Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos" written by Nitin Nohria, Bridget Gurtler includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vagelos Biographical facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vagelos Biographical, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vagelos Biographical 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vagelos Biographical
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 Vagelos Biographical
Strengths Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vagelos Biographical in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Vagelos Biographical is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Vagelos Biographical 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Vagelos Biographical 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 Vagelos Biographical in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Vagelos Biographical digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Vagelos Biographical 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vagelos Biographical is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Vagelos Biographical has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Vagelos Biographical to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vagelos Biographical 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Leadership & Managing People industry
– Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Vagelos Biographical to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Vagelos Biographical to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Vagelos Biographical is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Vagelos Biographical 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 Vagelos Biographical is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Vagelos Biographical
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Vagelos Biographical does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Vagelos Biographical has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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.
Weaknesses Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Vagelos Biographical 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 Vagelos Biographical supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vagelos Biographical vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos, in the dynamic environment Vagelos Biographical has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Vagelos Biographical has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Vagelos Biographical 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos, it seems that the employees of Vagelos Biographical don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Vagelos Biographical 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vagelos Biographical products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vagelos Biographical needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Vagelos Biographical 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nitin Nohria, Bridget Gurtler suggests that, Vagelos Biographical 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Vagelos Biographical has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos | 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Vagelos Biographical has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Vagelos Biographical to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos case study. Vagelos Biographical can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Vagelos Biographical to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Vagelos Biographical to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Vagelos Biographical 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Vagelos Biographical can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Vagelos Biographical operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Vagelos Biographical 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Vagelos Biographical can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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.
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 Vagelos Biographical in the consumer business. Now Vagelos Biographical can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Vagelos Biographical is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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.
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. Vagelos Biographical can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vagelos Biographical 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.
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 Vagelos Biographical 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Vagelos Biographical to increase its market reach. Vagelos Biographical 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.
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. Vagelos Biographical 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. Vagelos Biographical 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.
Threats Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Vagelos Biographical in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vagelos Biographical with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Vagelos Biographical.
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. Vagelos Biographical can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Vagelos Biographical
– 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 Vagelos Biographical.
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 Vagelos Biographical in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Vagelos Biographical 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
– Vagelos Biographical 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vagelos Biographical is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Vagelos Biographical business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Vagelos Biographical 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. Vagelos Biographical can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Vagelos Biographical needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Brief Biographical Note on P. Roy Vagelos 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 Vagelos Biographical needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.