Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A)
Dr. C.V. Chen received news that one of Lee and Li's senior assistants had found a loophole in a power of attorney from one of the firm's clients, SanDisk Corporation (SanDisk), that had allowed him to illegally sell the client's shares in a Taiwanese company and to sneak out of Taiwan with over NT$3 billion. Unfortunately, Lee and Li had no insurance to cover this embezzlement. Chen knew that the three senior partners needed to develop a plan of action to save the law firm, take care of the lawyers and other employees, maintain the reputation of the firm within Taiwan and abroad intact, do what was best for SanDisk and Lee and Li, and keep the more than 12,000 clients from deserting the firm.
Swot Analysis of "Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A)" written by W. Glenn Rowe, Yeong-Yuh Chiang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sandisk Lee facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Decision making, Ethics, Leadership, Managing people and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sandisk Lee, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sandisk Lee
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 Sandisk Lee
Strengths Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sandisk Lee in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sandisk Lee in the sector have low bargaining power. Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sandisk Lee to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sandisk Lee 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sandisk Lee
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sandisk Lee does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Sandisk Lee 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 W. Glenn Rowe, Yeong-Yuh Chiang 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Sandisk Lee is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Sandisk Lee 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sandisk Lee 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
– Sandisk Lee is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sandisk Lee is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) are -
Need for greater diversity
– Sandisk Lee 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sandisk Lee 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sandisk Lee is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Sandisk Lee needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sandisk Lee to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) HBR case study mentions - Sandisk Lee 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A), is just above the industry average. Sandisk Lee 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sandisk Lee products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sandisk Lee needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sandisk Lee 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 - Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Sandisk Lee 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sandisk Lee has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Sandisk Lee even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A), it seems that the employees of Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Sandisk Lee 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) | 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sandisk Lee 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, Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sandisk Lee to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sandisk Lee 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sandisk Lee 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 Sandisk Lee to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sandisk Lee can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Sandisk Lee 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sandisk Lee to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
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. Sandisk Lee can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sandisk Lee is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sandisk Lee 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sandisk Lee can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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
– Sandisk Lee can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sandisk Lee to increase its market reach. Sandisk Lee 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.
Threats Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sandisk Lee 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.
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. Sandisk Lee can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Sandisk Lee.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sandisk Lee 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sandisk Lee 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. Sandisk Lee needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Sandisk Lee 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
– Sandisk Lee has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sandisk Lee 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, Sandisk Lee 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) .
Regulatory challenges
– Sandisk Lee 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sandisk Lee
– 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 Sandisk Lee.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Embezzlement of NT$3 Billion by Eddie Liu (A) 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 Sandisk Lee needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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