Explores the corporate philanthropic activities at AT&T, formed in 1983. Addresses the difficulty of making centralized decisions after the break-up for the four new entities, each with a diverse and sometimes cross-competitive strategy.
Swot Analysis of "AT&T Foundation" written by Diana Barrett, Cassandra Hanley, Sally Aaron includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Philanthropic 1983 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AT&T Foundation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AT&T Foundation casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AT&T Foundation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Philanthropic 1983, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Philanthropic 1983 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 AT&T Foundation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AT&T Foundation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Philanthropic 1983
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 Philanthropic 1983
Strengths AT&T Foundation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Philanthropic 1983 in AT&T Foundation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Philanthropic 1983 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 Philanthropic 1983 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in AT&T Foundation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Philanthropic 1983 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in AT&T Foundation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Philanthropic 1983 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Philanthropic 1983 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 Philanthropic 1983 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– AT&T Foundation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Philanthropic 1983 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Philanthropic 1983 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Philanthropic 1983 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Philanthropic 1983 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 Philanthropic 1983 in the sector have low bargaining power. AT&T Foundation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Philanthropic 1983 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Philanthropic 1983 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 Diana Barrett, Cassandra Hanley, Sally Aaron 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Philanthropic 1983 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 AT&T Foundation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Philanthropic 1983
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Philanthropic 1983 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Philanthropic 1983 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in AT&T Foundation 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Philanthropic 1983 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in AT&T Foundation 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.
Weaknesses AT&T Foundation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AT&T Foundation are -
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Philanthropic 1983 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - AT&T Foundation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Philanthropic 1983 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Philanthropic 1983 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study AT&T Foundation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study AT&T Foundation, is just above the industry average. Philanthropic 1983 needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Philanthropic 1983 needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Philanthropic 1983 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Philanthropic 1983 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Philanthropic 1983 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Philanthropic 1983, firm in the HBR case study AT&T Foundation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study AT&T Foundation, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As AT&T Foundation HBR case study mentions - Philanthropic 1983 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Philanthropic 1983 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Philanthropic 1983 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study AT&T Foundation 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 Philanthropic 1983 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities AT&T Foundation | 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 AT&T Foundation are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Philanthropic 1983 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Philanthropic 1983 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Philanthropic 1983 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AT&T Foundation case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Philanthropic 1983 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
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 Philanthropic 1983 in the consumer business. Now Philanthropic 1983 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 Philanthropic 1983 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, Philanthropic 1983 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, AT&T Foundation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
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. Philanthropic 1983 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Philanthropic 1983 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.
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. Philanthropic 1983 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Philanthropic 1983 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Philanthropic 1983 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the AT&T Foundation case study. Philanthropic 1983 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
Threats AT&T Foundation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AT&T Foundation are -
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 Philanthropic 1983 in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Philanthropic 1983 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Philanthropic 1983 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
– Philanthropic 1983 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Philanthropic 1983 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.
Environmental challenges
– Philanthropic 1983 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. Philanthropic 1983 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Philanthropic 1983 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Philanthropic 1983 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study AT&T Foundation, Philanthropic 1983 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 Philanthropic 1983
– 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 Philanthropic 1983.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AT&T Foundation 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 AT&T Foundation 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 AT&T Foundation 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 AT&T Foundation 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 AT&T Foundation 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 Philanthropic 1983 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.