Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction
Linda Rabbitt, founder and CEO of rand* construction walked into her office at the company's headquarters in Alexandria, VA and briefly closed the door behind her. It was 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 22, 2014, and she had just addressed her staff after the sudden and tragic death of the company's well-loved President, Jon Couch, the previous Friday afternoon. It had been an emotional address, as Rabbitt tried to inspire the company to move forward while holding back her own tears. For Rabbitt and for everyone else at the company, the loss was both professional and personal. Furthermore, Couch's death signified for Rabbitt the loss of her entire succession plan. Now in her mid-60s, Rabbitt was preparing to turn over the reins of the company to Couch, whom she had partnered with and mentored for eighteen years. What should Rabbitt do now? What should she plan for the future now that Couch was gone?
Swot Analysis of "Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction" written by Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rabbitt Couch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Leadership, Organizational culture, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rabbitt Couch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rabbitt Couch 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rabbitt Couch
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 Rabbitt Couch
Strengths Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rabbitt Couch in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Rabbitt Couch has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rabbitt Couch to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Rabbitt Couch 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 Rabbitt Couch is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rabbitt Couch in the sector have low bargaining power. Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rabbitt Couch to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Rabbitt Couch
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rabbitt Couch does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rabbitt Couch is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rabbitt Couch 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rabbitt Couch to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rabbitt Couch to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Rabbitt Couch 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 Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly 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.
Training and development
– Rabbitt Couch has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rabbitt Couch 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Rabbitt Couch is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rabbitt Couch 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.
Weaknesses Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rabbitt Couch is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction, 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rabbitt Couch 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. Rabbitt Couch 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Rabbitt Couch 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 - Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction HBR case study mentions - Rabbitt Couch 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Rabbitt Couch 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rabbitt Couch is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Rabbitt Couch needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rabbitt Couch to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Rabbitt Couch 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rabbitt Couch is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction, it seems that the employees of Rabbitt Couch 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction, in the dynamic environment Rabbitt Couch has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rabbitt Couch has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction | 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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, Rabbitt Couch can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rabbitt Couch 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, Rabbitt Couch is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Rabbitt Couch 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.
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. Rabbitt Couch can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Rabbitt Couch 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. Rabbitt Couch 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Rabbitt Couch 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rabbitt Couch 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rabbitt Couch 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rabbitt Couch 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Rabbitt Couch can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rabbitt Couch 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.
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 Rabbitt Couch 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rabbitt Couch has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rabbitt Couch to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction case study. Rabbitt Couch can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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.
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 Rabbitt Couch.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rabbitt Couch 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Rabbitt Couch 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
– Rabbitt Couch 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. Rabbitt Couch can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rabbitt Couch 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.
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. Rabbitt Couch can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rabbitt Couch 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction, Rabbitt Couch 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 Rabbitt Couch 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 Rabbitt Couch with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Rabbitt Couch business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Linda Rabbitt at rand* construction 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 Rabbitt Couch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.