Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team
The Turkish general manager of a successful telecommunications equipment-manufacturing joint venture between the Canadian company Northern Telecom and local partners in Turkey reviews the solutions to a crisis in 1989 and wonders whether the company will be able to handle another problem situation following Turkey's local elections in 1993.
Authors :: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Pamela Yatsko, Kalman D. Applbaum
Swot Analysis of "Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Pamela Yatsko, Kalman D. Applbaum includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Turkey's Northern facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Joint ventures, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Turkey's Northern, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Turkey's Northern 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Turkey's Northern
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 Turkey's Northern
Strengths Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Turkey's Northern in Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Turkey's Northern in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Turkey's Northern is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Turkey's Northern has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Turkey's Northern to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Turkey's Northern 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Turkey's Northern 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 Turkey's Northern in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Turkey's Northern has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Turkey's Northern 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Turkey's Northern 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Turkey's Northern is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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.
Analytics focus
– Turkey's Northern 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Pamela Yatsko, Kalman D. Applbaum 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)
– Turkey's Northern 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team - 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 Turkey's Northern
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Turkey's Northern does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Turkey's Northern in the sector have low bargaining power. Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Turkey's Northern to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Turkey's Northern 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Turkey's Northern is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Turkey's Northern 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Turkey's Northern 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Pamela Yatsko, Kalman D. Applbaum suggests that, Turkey's Northern 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Turkey's Northern 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Turkey's Northern 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Turkey's Northern has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team, in the dynamic environment Turkey's Northern has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Turkey's Northern has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Turkey's Northern, firm in the HBR case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team, 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.
Opportunities Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team | 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Turkey's Northern can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Turkey's Northern 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Turkey's Northern can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Turkey's Northern 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.
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 Turkey's Northern in the consumer business. Now Turkey's Northern can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Turkey's Northern 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 Turkey's Northern to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Turkey's Northern is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Turkey's Northern to increase its market reach. Turkey's Northern 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Turkey's Northern can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Turkey's Northern 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, Turkey's Northern 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Turkey's Northern 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.
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. Turkey's Northern can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Turkey's Northern 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. Turkey's Northern 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.
Threats Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Turkey's Northern 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Turkey's Northern with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Turkey's Northern.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Turkey's Northern is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Turkey's Northern 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 Turkey's Northern demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Turkey's Northern needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Turkey's Northern has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Turkey's Northern 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team, Turkey's Northern 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 .
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. Turkey's Northern can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Turkey's Northern 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. Turkey's Northern can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Turkey's Northern
– 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 Turkey's Northern.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team 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 Turkey's Northern needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
