Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL
This two-part case revolves around a mandate given by Ganesh Purandare, head of the financial services business unit at SDL, a growing software development company, to Mohua Sen, head of recruitment for the division, whereby he asks her to reduce recruitment times. For SDL, each lateral hire is done against a billable opportunity. Hence, timely or early fulfilment is critical not only to ensuring project deliverables but also for addressing the immediate billability question. Part A: Mohua Sen examines the entire process timelines and considers the feasibility of reducing recruitment times. The principles of business process re-engineering are used to study the problem of process cycle time reduction. Students are asked to provide possible solutions.
Swot Analysis of "Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL" written by Debolina Dutta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sdl Mohua facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sdl Mohua, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sdl Mohua
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 Sdl Mohua
Strengths Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sdl Mohua in Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sdl Mohua in the sector have low bargaining power. Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sdl Mohua to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Sdl Mohua 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 Debolina Dutta 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sdl Mohua is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sdl Mohua 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 recruit top talent
– Sdl Mohua is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sdl Mohua in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Sdl Mohua has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sdl Mohua to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sdl Mohua has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sdl Mohua 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Sdl Mohua 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 Sdl Mohua 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)
– Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sdl Mohua 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.
Weaknesses Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sdl Mohua 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sdl Mohua products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sdl Mohua needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL, is just above the industry average. Sdl Mohua 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sdl Mohua 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sdl Mohua 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. Sdl Mohua 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.
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 Sdl Mohua supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sdl Mohua vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Sdl Mohua 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sdl Mohua 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sdl Mohua 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL, in the dynamic environment Sdl Mohua has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sdl Mohua has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Debolina Dutta suggests that, Sdl Mohua 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.
Opportunities Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL | 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Sdl Mohua 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sdl Mohua 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sdl Mohua 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 Sdl Mohua to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sdl Mohua is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sdl Mohua to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Sdl Mohua can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sdl Mohua 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.
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 Sdl Mohua in the consumer business. Now Sdl Mohua can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sdl Mohua can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sdl Mohua 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sdl Mohua has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sdl Mohua to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL case study. Sdl Mohua can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sdl Mohua can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Sdl Mohua 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. Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sdl Mohua with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Sdl Mohua
– 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 Sdl Mohua.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sdl Mohua 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sdl Mohua is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sdl Mohua 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sdl Mohua 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. Sdl Mohua needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Sdl Mohua business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Sdl Mohua in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sdl Mohua 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sdl Mohua 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL .
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. Sdl Mohua 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Recruiting Faster: (A) Process Innovation at SDL 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 Sdl Mohua needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.