Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy
MRW is a courier firm based in Barcelona (Spain). In 2010, it was consolidating internationalization of its business. It is against this background that the case raises a highly sensitive, emotional issue: What to do about Sonia, a recently-hired manager (still in her probationary period) who suddenly reveals that she is pregnant. Moreover, her pregnancy is a high-risk one, likely requiring an early medical leave. The new manager's post involves setting up Information Technology (IT) systems, which are vital to the firm's business, internationalization and invoicing. 'The case explores two standpoints: (1) a company weathering the economic crisis, in which it is contrary to the firm's 'belt-tightening' measures to hire a replacement for an employee on leave; (2) the company's track record in the CSR field including its promotion of opportunities for women. The case aims to create a dilemma for students. Some will defend Sonia's right to a maternity leave and to continue working in MRW, especially in the light of her trials and tribulations with fertility treatment and the fact that the pregnancy is a risky one. Others will defend the company's interests, arguing that the situation in the firm is critical and that MRW's internationalization is vital for the company's business development. The latter group will focus on Sonia's role in launching the internationalization project. The question of what to do about Sonia's pregnancy is a critical one for both the Technology Department and for Sonia. Dealing with it requires great care.
Swot Analysis of "Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy" written by Margarita MM Marti, Adolfo AM Montalvo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pregnancy Mrw facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Gender, Knowledge management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pregnancy Mrw, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pregnancy Mrw 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pregnancy Mrw
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 Pregnancy Mrw
Strengths Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pregnancy Mrw in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pregnancy Mrw digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Pregnancy Mrw has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pregnancy Mrw is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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
– Pregnancy Mrw has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pregnancy Mrw to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pregnancy Mrw 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pregnancy Mrw 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pregnancy Mrw to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pregnancy Mrw to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Pregnancy Mrw has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Pregnancy Mrw is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Pregnancy Mrw 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 Pregnancy Mrw in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Weaknesses Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pregnancy Mrw has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Pregnancy Mrw even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pregnancy Mrw, firm in the HBR case study Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pregnancy Mrw is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pregnancy Mrw products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pregnancy Mrw needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Pregnancy Mrw 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 - Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Pregnancy Mrw supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pregnancy Mrw vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Pregnancy Mrw 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Margarita MM Marti, Adolfo AM Montalvo suggests that, Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Opportunities Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy | 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy are -
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. Pregnancy Mrw can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Pregnancy Mrw can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pregnancy Mrw 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.
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 Pregnancy Mrw in the consumer business. Now Pregnancy Mrw can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pregnancy Mrw has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pregnancy Mrw to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy case study. Pregnancy Mrw can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Pregnancy Mrw can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pregnancy Mrw 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.
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. Pregnancy Mrw can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pregnancy Mrw 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 Pregnancy Mrw to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy are -
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. Pregnancy Mrw 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.
Increasing wage structure of Pregnancy Mrw
– 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 Pregnancy Mrw.
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 Pregnancy Mrw in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pregnancy Mrw 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
– Pregnancy Mrw has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pregnancy Mrw 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 Pregnancy Mrw 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
– Pregnancy Mrw 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. Pregnancy Mrw can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Pregnancy Mrw can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Pregnancy Mrw needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pregnancy Mrw 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy .
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 Pregnancy Mrw.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pregnancy Mrw is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Pregnancy Mrw needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Conflict at MRW: The New Employee's Pregnancy 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 Pregnancy Mrw needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.