Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service
In January 2010, U. S. luxury goods retailer Raleigh & Rosse is being sued by its employees for encouraging "off the clock" hours. At the center of the class action lawsuit is the famous Raleigh & Rosse performance measurement system previously thought to be the core of the retailer's success. The system uses a sales-per-hour model to reward salespeople for time well spent on the floor. However, in this industry, where strong customer service is essential, many sales representatives feel they are encouraged to spend time off the clock tending to client needs; this issue and others have led to consequences that the company did not envision. The case illustrates how rapid company growth, decentralized management, and unrelenting pressure to perform can distort performance measurement systems and lead to undesirable consequences.
Swot Analysis of "Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service" written by Robert L. Simons, Michael Mahoney includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rosse Raleigh facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Compensation, Corporate governance, Customers, Labor, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Strategic planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rosse Raleigh, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rosse Raleigh 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rosse Raleigh
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 Rosse Raleigh
Strengths Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rosse Raleigh in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rosse Raleigh 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service - 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 recruit top talent
– Rosse Raleigh is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rosse Raleigh is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rosse Raleigh has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rosse Raleigh 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rosse Raleigh in the sector have low bargaining power. Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rosse Raleigh to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Rosse Raleigh 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 Rosse Raleigh in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Rosse Raleigh digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Rosse Raleigh 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rosse Raleigh 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rosse Raleigh to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rosse Raleigh to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Rosse Raleigh 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 Rosse Raleigh is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Rosse Raleigh is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rosse Raleigh 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert L. Simons, Michael Mahoney suggests that, Rosse Raleigh 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rosse Raleigh is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rosse Raleigh 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Rosse Raleigh has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Rosse Raleigh 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Rosse Raleigh 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service HBR case study mentions - Rosse Raleigh 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rosse Raleigh is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Rosse Raleigh needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rosse Raleigh to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Rosse Raleigh, firm in the HBR case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service, in the dynamic environment Rosse Raleigh has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rosse Raleigh has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service | 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Rosse Raleigh 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Rosse Raleigh can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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 Rosse Raleigh 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rosse Raleigh 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, Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Rosse Raleigh can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rosse Raleigh can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Rosse Raleigh 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rosse Raleigh 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 Rosse Raleigh has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rosse Raleigh to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service case study. Rosse Raleigh can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rosse Raleigh 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rosse Raleigh to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rosse Raleigh 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 Rosse Raleigh to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rosse Raleigh can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rosse Raleigh operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rosse Raleigh 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.
Threats Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service, Rosse Raleigh 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Rosse Raleigh
– 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 Rosse Raleigh.
Environmental challenges
– Rosse Raleigh 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. Rosse Raleigh can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rosse Raleigh 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.
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. Rosse Raleigh can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Rosse Raleigh needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rosse Raleigh 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rosse Raleigh with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rosse Raleigh has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rosse Raleigh 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, Rosse Raleigh 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service .
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 Rosse Raleigh.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service 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 Rosse Raleigh needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.