Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule
The newly appointed director of Surgical Business Analytics has been charged with the task of improving predictions of surgical case volume at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He is provided with 48 weeks of elective surgery schedule data that give the number of surgeries booked on specific dates prior to the surgery day and the actual number performed. Variation in daily operating room volumes is a major problem because of the mismatch in timing between when the staff schedules are made and when the final demand is known (usually the day before). This uncertainty creates staffing challenges for all support and ancillary services, including nurses, orderlies, anesthesiologists, the recovery room, pathology, radiology and the sterile cart centre. Can he develop a method to improve surgical case volume prediction that is actionable in a managerially useful time frame? How can he engage and approach stakeholders who may often consider "analytics," "data analysis" and "computations" as a black hole?
Authors :: Lauren E. Cipriano, Vikram Tiwari, Warren S. Sandberg, Gregory S. Zaric
Swot Analysis of "Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule" written by Lauren E. Cipriano, Vikram Tiwari, Warren S. Sandberg, Gregory S. Zaric includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Surgical Vanderbilt facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Data, Operations management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Surgical Vanderbilt, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Surgical Vanderbilt 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Surgical Vanderbilt
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 Surgical Vanderbilt
Strengths Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Surgical Vanderbilt in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Surgical Vanderbilt 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 Surgical Vanderbilt is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Surgical Vanderbilt is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Surgical Vanderbilt has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Surgical Vanderbilt to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Surgical Vanderbilt has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Surgical Vanderbilt is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Surgical Vanderbilt has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Organizational Resilience of Surgical Vanderbilt
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Surgical Vanderbilt does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Surgical Vanderbilt to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Surgical Vanderbilt to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Surgical Vanderbilt digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Surgical Vanderbilt in the sector have low bargaining power. Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Surgical Vanderbilt to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Surgical Vanderbilt 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 - Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Surgical Vanderbilt supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Surgical Vanderbilt vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule HBR case study mentions - Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Surgical Vanderbilt is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Surgical Vanderbilt is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule, in the dynamic environment Surgical Vanderbilt has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Surgical Vanderbilt has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule, is just above the industry average. Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Surgical Vanderbilt products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Surgical Vanderbilt needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule, it seems that the employees of Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Surgical Vanderbilt, firm in the HBR case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule | 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule are -
Buying journey improvements
– Surgical Vanderbilt can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Surgical Vanderbilt can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Surgical Vanderbilt can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Surgical Vanderbilt operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Surgical Vanderbilt has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Surgical Vanderbilt to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Surgical Vanderbilt to increase its market reach. Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Surgical Vanderbilt is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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
– Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Surgical Vanderbilt 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 Surgical Vanderbilt to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Surgical Vanderbilt in the consumer business. Now Surgical Vanderbilt can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Increasing wage structure of Surgical Vanderbilt
– 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 Surgical Vanderbilt.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
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. Surgical Vanderbilt needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Surgical Vanderbilt is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Surgical Vanderbilt 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. Surgical Vanderbilt can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Surgical Vanderbilt with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule, Surgical Vanderbilt may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Surgical Vanderbilt 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule .
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 Surgical Vanderbilt business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Surgical Vanderbilt in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Surgical Vanderbilt has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Surgical Vanderbilt 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Elective Surgery Schedule 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 Surgical Vanderbilt needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
