Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga
A venture capitalist faces a situation in which a struggling portfolio company has found a promising vice president of sales through a recruitment agency. The candidate would be an excellent fit for another one of the investor's companies--one that is doing much better. Yet, that firm has not embarked on a formal search.
Authors :: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon
Swot Analysis of "Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga" written by G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Saga Salesman facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Ethics, Talent management, Venture capital and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Saga Salesman, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Saga Salesman 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Saga Salesman
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 Saga Salesman
Strengths Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Saga Salesman in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Saga Salesman to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Saga Salesman 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 Saga Salesman digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Saga Salesman 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
– Saga Salesman has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Saga Salesman 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Saga Salesman is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Saga Salesman 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.
Training and development
– Saga Salesman has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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.
Learning organization
- Saga Salesman 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 Saga Salesman is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Saga Salesman
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Saga Salesman does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Saga Salesman 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 G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon 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
– Saga Salesman 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 Saga Salesman in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Saga Salesman has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Saga Salesman to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Saga Salesman in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga, it seems that the employees of Saga Salesman 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Saga Salesman has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Saga Salesman 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. Saga Salesman 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Saga Salesman is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Saga Salesman needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Saga Salesman to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Saga Salesman 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 Saga Salesman 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 - Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Saga Salesman 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga, is just above the industry average. Saga Salesman needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High 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 Saga Salesman supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Saga Salesman vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon suggests that, Saga Salesman 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga, in the dynamic environment Saga Salesman has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Saga Salesman has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga | 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga are -
Manufacturing automation
– Saga Salesman 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.
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. Saga Salesman can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Saga Salesman 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. Saga Salesman 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.
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 Saga Salesman in the consumer business. Now Saga Salesman can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Saga Salesman has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Saga Salesman to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga case study. Saga Salesman can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Saga Salesman is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Saga Salesman 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.
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. Saga Salesman can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Saga Salesman 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Saga Salesman to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Saga Salesman 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Saga Salesman can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Saga Salesman operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Saga Salesman can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Saga Salesman can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Saga Salesman 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga .
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Saga Salesman demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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 Saga Salesman.
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. Saga Salesman can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Saga Salesman business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Saga Salesman 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. Saga Salesman can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga, Saga Salesman 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 .
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 Saga Salesman in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Saga Salesman 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Saga Salesman can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Saga Salesman is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Case Vignette: The Salesman Saga 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 Saga Salesman needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.