Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention
The chief executive officer of Kvantum Inc. received a distressing email from the human resources manager at Data Research Services. The two companies shared office space, and Data Research Services had invested seed capital in Kvantum. However, a Data Research Services employee was now accusing one of Kvantum's most competent junior data scientists of harassment. The Kvantum employee had apparently approached the Data Research Services employee personally and then again through a popular social networking website. If the allegations were verified, Kvantum could lose a valuable employee. Moreover, a workplace scandal could adversely impact the start-up's reputation. The issue required immediate action. Should it be considered misbehaviour? If so, what kind of misbehaviour? Most importantly, how should Kvantum resolve the problem? Gaatha Gulyani is affiliated with Management Development Institute.
Swot Analysis of "Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention" written by Gaatha Gulyani, Jyotsna Bhatnagar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kvantum Misbehaviour facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kvantum Misbehaviour, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kvantum Misbehaviour
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 Kvantum Misbehaviour
Strengths Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kvantum Misbehaviour in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Gaatha Gulyani, Jyotsna Bhatnagar 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.
Learning organization
- Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Kvantum Misbehaviour is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour in the sector have low bargaining power. Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kvantum Misbehaviour to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Kvantum Misbehaviour has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kvantum Misbehaviour digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kvantum Misbehaviour to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kvantum Misbehaviour to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kvantum Misbehaviour is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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.
Weaknesses Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kvantum Misbehaviour, firm in the HBR case study Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kvantum Misbehaviour is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 - Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kvantum Misbehaviour vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kvantum Misbehaviour products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention, it seems that the employees of Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kvantum Misbehaviour is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention | 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention are -
Loyalty marketing
– Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kvantum Misbehaviour 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, Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Kvantum Misbehaviour can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kvantum Misbehaviour has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kvantum Misbehaviour to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention case study. Kvantum Misbehaviour can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kvantum Misbehaviour to increase its market reach. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kvantum Misbehaviour can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Kvantum Misbehaviour can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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.
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 Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
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 Kvantum Misbehaviour in the consumer business. Now Kvantum Misbehaviour can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kvantum Misbehaviour is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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
– Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
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 Kvantum Misbehaviour business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention, Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 .
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. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kvantum Misbehaviour has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
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. Kvantum Misbehaviour 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kvantum Misbehaviour can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Kvantum Misbehaviour
– 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kvantum Misbehaviour 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Inc.: Social Media Dilemma and Talent Retention 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 Kvantum Misbehaviour needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.