Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO
After two years of stunning financial results, Knight again appoints a new COO, Dick Donahue. Are Knight and Nike ready for a new COO? How does Donahue differ from Woodell? Will his personality, style, and agenda fit with the new Nike Knight has created? Also describes how the matrix organization has changed over two years.
Authors :: Christopher A. Bartlett, Robert W. Lightfoot
Swot Analysis of "Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO" written by Christopher A. Bartlett, Robert W. Lightfoot includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Knight Donahue facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational structure, Strategy execution, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Knight Donahue, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Knight Donahue 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Knight Donahue
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 Knight Donahue
Strengths Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Knight Donahue in Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Knight Donahue 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 Christopher A. Bartlett, Robert W. Lightfoot 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Knight Donahue is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Knight Donahue 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Knight Donahue in the sector have low bargaining power. Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Knight Donahue to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Knight Donahue 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 Knight Donahue in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Knight Donahue is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Knight Donahue digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Knight Donahue 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 brand equity
– Knight Donahue has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Knight Donahue to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Knight Donahue 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Knight Donahue to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Knight Donahue to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Knight Donahue has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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.
Weaknesses Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO HBR case study mentions - Knight Donahue 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Knight Donahue 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Knight Donahue 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Knight Donahue 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 - Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Knight Donahue, firm in the HBR case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO, it seems that the employees of Knight Donahue don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher A. Bartlett, Robert W. Lightfoot suggests that, Knight Donahue 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Knight Donahue 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Knight Donahue has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Knight Donahue 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Knight Donahue is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO | 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Knight Donahue in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Knight Donahue 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Knight Donahue 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Knight Donahue can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Knight Donahue 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, Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Knight Donahue can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Knight Donahue 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 Knight Donahue to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Knight Donahue 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Knight Donahue to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Knight Donahue 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.
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. Knight Donahue can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Knight Donahue in the consumer business. Now Knight Donahue can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Knight Donahue to increase its market reach. Knight Donahue 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Knight Donahue 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.
Threats Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO are -
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Knight Donahue is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Knight Donahue 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO, Knight Donahue 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 .
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 Knight Donahue in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Knight Donahue 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 Knight Donahue business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Knight Donahue can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Knight Donahue
– 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 Knight Donahue.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Knight Donahue has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Knight Donahue 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 Knight Donahue 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.
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 Knight Donahue.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Nike in Transition (C): A Second COO 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 Knight Donahue needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.