Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed
This case is part of a four part series that examines the merger of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Military Center at Bethesda - the most expensive, controversial and largest hospital merger in US history. The series includes: A case + A teaching note (Leadership of VADM Mateczun); B case + B teaching note (Army/Navy cultural issues); Epilogue (short conclusion); Film - award winning short documentary. The A case focuses on the leadership of Vice Admiral Dr. John Mateczun, a three-star Navy admiral who led the merger. Mateczun achieved what many considered to be a minor miracle - integrating Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval in the face of fierce institutional resistance. But in his drive to see the plan through, Mateczun stretched the limit of military authority, expended his political capital and alienated friends and colleagues. The case allows discussion of leadership styles and the importance of persuasion, negotiation, communication issues, and personal character. There are two companion cases and a 17-minute film. The film shows a brief history of the hospitals, explains the BRAC (Base Closure Commission), and shows the intensity and urgency of the medical needs of patients being cared for at Walter Reed during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The B Case focuses on the difficulties of merging organizations with significant cultural differences. It may be taught together with the (A) case or on its own with the video. The short Epilogue looks at the outcome in 2014, 3 years after the merger. Case number 2035.0
Swot Analysis of "Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed" written by Linda Bilmes, Matt Mabe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Walter Reed facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Walter Reed, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Walter Reed
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 Walter Reed
Strengths Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Walter Reed in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Walter Reed digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Walter Reed 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
– Walter Reed has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Walter Reed has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
High brand equity
– Walter Reed has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Walter Reed to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed - 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
– Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Walter Reed to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Walter Reed to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Walter Reed is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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.
Learning organization
- Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Walter Reed is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Walter Reed in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Walter Reed 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 Linda Bilmes, Matt Mabe 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Walter Reed needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Walter Reed to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, is just above the industry average. Walter Reed 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Walter Reed has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Walter Reed is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed HBR case study mentions - Walter Reed 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Walter Reed 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. Walter Reed 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Walter Reed has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Walter Reed, firm in the HBR case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Walter Reed supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Walter Reed vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Walter Reed is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Walter Reed 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Walter Reed 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.
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 Walter Reed in the consumer business. Now Walter Reed can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Walter Reed 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Walter Reed 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Walter Reed can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Walter Reed operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Walter Reed can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Walter Reed to increase its market reach. Walter Reed 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Walter Reed 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Walter Reed 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.
Threats Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -
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 Walter Reed.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Walter Reed 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. Walter Reed needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Walter Reed in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Walter Reed 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.
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. Walter Reed can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Walter Reed 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.
Environmental challenges
– Walter Reed 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. Walter Reed can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Walter Reed has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Walter Reed 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Walter Reed with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Walter Reed 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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