The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Mentorship of John Cooper (B)
John Cooper had spent the last five years working for Standard Holdings, an early stage business development and private equity arm of the Standard Group of Companies (Standard). Cooper had benefitted greatly from the rich mentorship that Standard's founder, Alan Kirkpatrick, provided. Cooper grew the confidence to fully exploit his potential and subsequently decided to leave Standard to incorporate his own consulting company. Before announcing his decision to Kirkpatrick to leave standard, Cooper was worried about the reaction he would receive. While saddened by the loss to Standard of Cooper's skills and talents, Kirkpatrick remained very supportive of the decision to leave and agreed to become Cooper's first client. Throughout the growth period of his new company, Cooper constantly reflected on the impact that Kirkpatrick's' influence had on his own decision-making. He ultimately realized the significant positive value that Kirkpatrick's mentorship had bestowed upon him when he returned to school for a master in business administration (MBA) and classmates would approach him for advice and compliment him on his professionalism and insights.
Swot Analysis of "The Mentorship of John Cooper (B)" written by Nick Kuzyk, Lyn Purdy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cooper Kirkpatrick facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Coaching, Developing employees, Leadership, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Mentorship of John Cooper (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cooper Kirkpatrick, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cooper Kirkpatrick
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 Cooper Kirkpatrick
Strengths The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cooper Kirkpatrick in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Cooper Kirkpatrick is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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.
Training and development
– Cooper Kirkpatrick has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cooper Kirkpatrick is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 Cooper Kirkpatrick is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 Nick Kuzyk, Lyn Purdy 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
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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
– The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cooper Kirkpatrick to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cooper Kirkpatrick to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cooper Kirkpatrick has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cooper Kirkpatrick is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cooper Kirkpatrick in the sector have low bargaining power. The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cooper Kirkpatrick to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Cooper Kirkpatrick is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cooper Kirkpatrick, firm in the HBR case study The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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, Cooper Kirkpatrick is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cooper Kirkpatrick products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cooper Kirkpatrick needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cooper Kirkpatrick 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, Nick Kuzyk, Lyn Purdy suggests that, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cooper Kirkpatrick is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Cooper Kirkpatrick needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cooper Kirkpatrick to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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. Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Mentorship of John Cooper (B), in the dynamic environment Cooper Kirkpatrick has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cooper Kirkpatrick has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Opportunities The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) | 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) are -
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 Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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 Cooper Kirkpatrick in the consumer business. Now Cooper Kirkpatrick can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cooper Kirkpatrick can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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, The Mentorship of John Cooper (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cooper Kirkpatrick to increase its market reach. Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cooper Kirkpatrick 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 Cooper Kirkpatrick to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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. Cooper Kirkpatrick 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. Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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. Cooper Kirkpatrick can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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. Cooper Kirkpatrick can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) are -
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 Cooper Kirkpatrick.
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. Cooper Kirkpatrick can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Environmental challenges
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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. Cooper Kirkpatrick can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Mentorship of John Cooper (B), Cooper Kirkpatrick may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Regulatory challenges
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cooper Kirkpatrick has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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. Cooper Kirkpatrick 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.
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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 The Mentorship of John Cooper (B) 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 Cooper Kirkpatrick needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
