Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management
Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) charted a success story starting out as the smallest new entrant in Hong Kong's highly competitive telecom industry in 1999 and went on to become the second largest provider of residential broadband within 10 years. State-of-the-art fiber network infrastructure allowed HKBN to offer high-quality high-speed telecom services at competitive prices. However, the company soon realized that its technological edge could be easily replicated. Its competitive advantage was actually vested in its 2,500 employees - all referred to as Talents. HKBN instituted a unique co-ownership scheme whereby employees were invited to invest up to two years of salary in the company. It also made sustained investment in talent development through well-designed learning programs coupled with significant empowerment on the job. The case outlines the importance of leadership and talent management as key drivers of growth for the company. HKBN listed in early 2015 and embarked upon its next phase of growth with the aim of becoming the largest broadband service provider by 2019, overtaking its largest competitor and entrenched incumbent, PCCW. HKBN looked to its Talents to rise to the challenge once again. Learning objective: - To identify ways of linking the talent management strategy to the business strategy - To outline different ways of embedding the talent strategy at the core of an organization - To build a high-performance organizational culture through people practices - To discover management models that not only result in returns for shareholders but also take into account employees as key stakeholders.
Swot Analysis of "Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management" written by Shlomo Ben-Hur, Ivy Buche includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hkbn Broadband facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Strategy, Talent management, Work-life balance and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hkbn Broadband, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hkbn Broadband
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 Hkbn Broadband
Strengths Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hkbn Broadband in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hkbn Broadband has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Training and development
– Hkbn Broadband has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Analytics focus
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Shlomo Ben-Hur, Ivy Buche 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hkbn Broadband digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hkbn Broadband is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hkbn Broadband 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hkbn Broadband is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Organizational Resilience of Hkbn Broadband
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hkbn Broadband does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Hkbn Broadband is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hkbn Broadband to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hkbn Broadband to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Hkbn Broadband 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 Hkbn Broadband is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
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 Hkbn Broadband supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hkbn Broadband vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, in the dynamic environment Hkbn Broadband has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hkbn Broadband has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, it seems that the employees of Hkbn Broadband 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hkbn Broadband 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hkbn Broadband 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 - Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hkbn Broadband is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hkbn Broadband needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hkbn Broadband to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Shlomo Ben-Hur, Ivy Buche suggests that, Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hkbn Broadband to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hkbn Broadband can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hkbn Broadband can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hkbn Broadband 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, Hkbn Broadband is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hkbn Broadband 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, Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Hkbn Broadband can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hkbn Broadband 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 Hkbn Broadband to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Hkbn Broadband 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. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hkbn Broadband 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hkbn Broadband 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.
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 Hkbn Broadband in the consumer business. Now Hkbn Broadband can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Threats Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
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. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hkbn Broadband is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hkbn Broadband with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Hkbn Broadband needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Hkbn Broadband
– 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 Hkbn Broadband.
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 Hkbn Broadband.
Regulatory challenges
– Hkbn Broadband needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management .
Environmental challenges
– Hkbn Broadband 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. Hkbn Broadband can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.