Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A)
Sherif Mityas, recently promoted as project manager at A.T. Kearney, faced a client service challenge in his very first project experience. Mityas had been working closely for six weeks with the management team of the U.S. subsidiary of a Japan-headquartered consumer products company to identify ways to turn around the U.S. operations. Following the midproject status meeting, executives from the Japanese parent company made an unexpected request that placed Mityas in a quandary. Mityas related the situation: "At the conclusion of the midproject meeting, I felt confident that we had made solid recommendations about turning around the U.S. operations, but the Japanese parent company executives made a difficult request. They wanted us to evaluate the ability of the U.S. management team to carry out the turnaround. U.S. management had been instrumental in our being able to understand and analyze the situation comprehensively, and we would need their cooperation for our future work to be meaningful. If they came to know that we were simultaneously evaluating them, we could lose their trust--but, then, the Japanese executives represented the client. I didn't know how to proceed."
Swot Analysis of "Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A)" written by Ashish Nanda, Kelley Morrell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mityas Midproject facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Customers, Ethics, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mityas Midproject, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mityas Midproject 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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mityas Midproject
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 Mityas Midproject
Strengths Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mityas Midproject in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mityas Midproject in the sector have low bargaining power. Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mityas Midproject to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mityas Midproject 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.
Training and development
– Mityas Midproject has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mityas Midproject digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mityas Midproject 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mityas Midproject 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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Mityas Midproject 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 Mityas Midproject in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Mityas Midproject 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 Mityas Midproject is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Mityas Midproject has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mityas Midproject to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mityas Midproject in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Mityas Midproject 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 Ashish Nanda, Kelley Morrell 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
– Mityas Midproject is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mityas Midproject 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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ashish Nanda, Kelley Morrell suggests that, Mityas Midproject 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mityas Midproject 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 - Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Mityas Midproject 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mityas Midproject, firm in the HBR case study Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mityas Midproject is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Mityas Midproject 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) 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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mityas Midproject is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mityas Midproject 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A), in the dynamic environment Mityas Midproject has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mityas Midproject has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mityas Midproject is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Mityas Midproject needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mityas Midproject to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mityas Midproject 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. Mityas Midproject 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.
Opportunities Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Mityas Midproject 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 Mityas Midproject to increase its market reach. Mityas Midproject 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Mityas Midproject 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mityas Midproject 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 Mityas Midproject in the consumer business. Now Mityas Midproject can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Mityas Midproject can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mityas Midproject can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mityas Midproject can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mityas Midproject operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mityas Midproject 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mityas Midproject 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mityas Midproject 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 Mityas Midproject to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mityas Midproject has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mityas Midproject to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) case study. Mityas Midproject can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Mityas Midproject 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.
Threats Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mityas Midproject with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Mityas Midproject 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.
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. Mityas Midproject can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mityas Midproject 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.
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. Mityas Midproject needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mityas Midproject 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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (A) .
Increasing wage structure of Mityas Midproject
– 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 Mityas Midproject.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mityas Midproject is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mityas Midproject 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.
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 Mityas Midproject.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mityas Midproject has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mityas Midproject 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mityas Midproject 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.
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 Mityas Midproject in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney: Negotiating a Client Service Predicament (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 Mityas Midproject needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
