Case Study Description of Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed)
Mark Ain is the founder and manager of Kronos, which has grown to a $33 million dollar company in 13 years. The case focuses on Ain's role in the company. Presents data from a personality assessment of Ain and his senior management team as input to this decision.
Swot Analysis of "Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed)" written by Michael J. Roberts includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kronos Ain facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Leading teams, Operations management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kronos Ain, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kronos Ain 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kronos Ain
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 Kronos Ain
Strengths Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kronos Ain in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Kronos Ain 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 Michael J. Roberts 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
– Kronos Ain 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 Kronos Ain in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Kronos Ain is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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
– Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kronos Ain to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kronos Ain to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kronos Ain is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kronos Ain 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kronos Ain 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kronos Ain in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kronos Ain is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kronos Ain digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kronos Ain 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.
Training and development
– Kronos Ain has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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.
Weaknesses Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), is just above the industry average. Kronos Ain 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos Ain 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), it seems that the employees of Kronos Ain 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kronos Ain products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kronos Ain needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kronos Ain 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) HBR case study mentions - Kronos Ain 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kronos Ain 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 - Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kronos Ain, firm in the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos Ain supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kronos Ain vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kronos Ain is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Kronos Ain needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kronos Ain to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) | 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kronos Ain 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kronos Ain 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, Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), 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 Kronos Ain 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 Kronos Ain to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kronos Ain 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.
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. Kronos Ain 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. Kronos Ain 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kronos Ain is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kronos Ain has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kronos Ain to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) case study. Kronos Ain can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kronos Ain 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kronos Ain to increase its market reach. Kronos Ain 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.
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. Kronos Ain can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Kronos Ain 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.
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 Kronos Ain in the consumer business. Now Kronos Ain can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kronos Ain can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed), Kronos Ain may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kronos Ain 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kronos Ain in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kronos Ain is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Kronos Ain can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Kronos Ain needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Kronos Ain 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kronos Ain 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.
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. Kronos Ain 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kronos Ain 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kronos Ain with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Kronos Ain 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. Kronos Ain can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kronos Ain 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos (A) and (B) (Condensed) 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 Kronos Ain needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
