The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project
The case describes a large and complex IT integration project, after the acquisition of one metals mining company by another. As part of the integration, 40,000 PCs, applications, and the network had to be consolidated into one system. The project lasted two years and involved 1,000 people across the organization.
Swot Analysis of "The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project" written by Christoph H. Loch includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Project Integration facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Project management, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Project Integration, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Project Integration 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Project Integration
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 Project Integration
Strengths The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Project Integration in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Project Integration is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Project Integration has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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
– Project Integration 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 Christoph H. Loch 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Project Integration is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Project Integration has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Project Integration 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.
Learning organization
- Project Integration 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 Project Integration is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Project Integration 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Project Integration 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 Project Integration in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Project Integration in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Project Integration 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Project Integration 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Project Integration to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Project Integration to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Project Integration is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Project Integration needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Project Integration to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project, 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 Project Integration has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project, in the dynamic environment Project Integration has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Project Integration has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Project Integration has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Need for greater diversity
– Project Integration 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Project Integration 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Project Integration 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 - The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 Project Integration, firm in the HBR case study The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 Project Integration 's lucrative customers.
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 Project Integration supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Project Integration vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project | 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project are -
Loyalty marketing
– Project Integration 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, Project Integration 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, The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Project Integration 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Project Integration to increase its market reach. Project Integration 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.
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. Project Integration 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. Project Integration 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Project Integration 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Project Integration to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Project Integration can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Project Integration 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Project Integration 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Project Integration can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Project Integration 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Project Integration is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Project Integration 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 Project Integration to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Project Integration is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Project Integration 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. Project Integration can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Project Integration
– 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 Project Integration.
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. Project Integration needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Project Integration 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Project Integration has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Project Integration 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Project Integration 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Project Integration 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.
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.
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. Project Integration 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Project Integration with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Project Integration business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT Integration Project 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 Project Integration needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
