When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B)
This case (Parts A&B) takes students behind the scenes at the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) as it struggles to recognize and manage an unusual outbreak of HIV in a poor, rural community. As ISDH learns, illegal injection of prescription drugs, mainly opioids, is spreading the disease. Users are sharing needles and thus exposing the second, third, or subsequent users to infection with HIV from potentially contaminated blood residue. ISDH recognizes that "needle exchange" is one method generally found effective in other states in reducing infections among injection drug users. Drug users can bring used needles to a clinic or other exchange location and receive fresh ones without fearing that they will be subject to arrest or other sanctions. However, Indiana, with a conservative legislature and governor, has by law long banned needle exchanges because it perceives these to encourage drug use. In reading and discussing this case study, students will learn about how Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Indiana Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, and the legislature all sought to balance public health concerns against long-held beliefs about how best to fight the war against drugs.
Swot Analysis of "When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B)" written by Arnold M. Howitt, Kirsten Lundberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Indiana Isdh facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Indiana Isdh, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Indiana Isdh 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Indiana Isdh
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 Indiana Isdh
Strengths When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Indiana Isdh in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Indiana Isdh has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Indiana Isdh is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Indiana Isdh digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Indiana Isdh has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Indiana Isdh 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Indiana Isdh is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Indiana Isdh 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 Indiana Isdh in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Indiana Isdh has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Indiana Isdh to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Indiana Isdh
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Indiana Isdh 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 Indiana Isdh in the sector have low bargaining power. When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Indiana Isdh to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Indiana Isdh 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 Indiana Isdh is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Indiana Isdh is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Indiana Isdh 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 - When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Indiana Isdh has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 Indiana Isdh 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Indiana Isdh 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B), in the dynamic environment Indiana Isdh has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Indiana Isdh has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Indiana Isdh is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Indiana Isdh 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B), is just above the industry average. Indiana Isdh 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Indiana Isdh 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Indiana Isdh 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. Indiana Isdh 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Arnold M. Howitt, Kirsten Lundberg suggests that, Indiana Isdh 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) | 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Indiana Isdh in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Indiana Isdh 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Indiana Isdh 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Indiana Isdh 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, Indiana Isdh 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, When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Indiana Isdh 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Indiana Isdh is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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.
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 Indiana Isdh 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.
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. Indiana Isdh can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Indiana Isdh 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Indiana Isdh has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Indiana Isdh to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) case study. Indiana Isdh can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Indiana Isdh in the consumer business. Now Indiana Isdh can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Indiana Isdh can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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.
Threats When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Indiana Isdh has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Indiana Isdh 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.
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 Indiana Isdh.
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. Indiana Isdh 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Indiana Isdh with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Indiana Isdh in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Indiana Isdh
– 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 Indiana Isdh.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Indiana Isdh 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.
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. Indiana Isdh can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Indiana Isdh 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Indiana Isdh 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Indiana Isdh is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Indiana Isdh 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 When Cultures Collide: 2015 HIV Outbreak in Southern Indiana (B) 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 Indiana Isdh needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
