Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force
Outlines events leading up to a meeting of a six-person task force which has been assigned to reduce overhead costs at a major manufacturing company. History of the company, and backgrounds of all the task force members are presented. Raises the following questions and issues for students to deal with: 1) What strategy should the task force leader take to organize the task force and accomplish its goals within the two week period? 2) What division of the labor, if any, is appropriate? 3) What should his purpose and agenda be for the first meeting? 4) Given the information in the case, what problems should be anticipated in terms of interdepartmental conflict and members' hidden agendas? 5) What should he do to deal with these problems?
Swot Analysis of "Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force" written by John J. Gabarro, James G. Clawson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Force Task facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Leading teams, Organizational culture, Strategic planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Force Task, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Force Task 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Force Task
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 Force Task
Strengths Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Force Task in Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Force Task 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
– Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Force Task to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Force Task to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Force Task is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Force Task has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Force Task to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Force Task has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Force Task 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
– Force Task is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Force Task is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Force Task
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Force Task does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Force Task digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Force Task 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.
Analytics focus
– Force Task 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 John J. Gabarro, James G. Clawson 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Force Task in the sector have low bargaining power. Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Force Task to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Force Task 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force, 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Force Task 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Force Task is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Force Task 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Force Task is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Force Task 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force, it seems that the employees of Force Task 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Force Task 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John J. Gabarro, James G. Clawson suggests that, Force Task 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Force Task 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Force Task has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force | 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Force Task 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Force Task to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Force Task 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Force Task can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Force Task 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Force Task 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Force Task has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Force Task to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force case study. Force Task can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Force Task can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Force Task operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Force Task is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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.
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 Force Task in the consumer business. Now Force Task can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Force Task 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.
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. Force Task 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. Force Task 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Force Task 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Force Task 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.
Threats Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Force Task 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force .
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. Force Task needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Force Task business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Force Task 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.
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.
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. Force Task can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Force Task with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Force Task has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Force Task 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Force Task 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.
Environmental challenges
– Force Task 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. Force Task can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Force Task
– 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 Force Task.
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. Force Task 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force 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 Force Task needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
