Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group
International Services Group (ISG) serves global and local clients with accounting solutions. ISG has grown substantially over the last few decades, thanks to a very pro-active management culture at the local subsidiary level. While this growth has been good, it has also introduced certain inefficiencies. ISG's chief executive officer now wants to change the organization from a locally responsive structure to a globally integrated one by introducing a global accounting software program. The case describes how the implementation meeting, which was conducted in a video-conferencing format, failed. The case deals with boundary-spanning leadership issues across functional, cultural, hierarchical and geographic domains, and it highlights the managerial side of change.
Swot Analysis of "Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group" written by Andreas Schotter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Isg Boundary facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Growth strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Isg Boundary, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Isg Boundary 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Isg Boundary
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 Isg Boundary
Strengths Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Isg Boundary in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Isg Boundary is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Isg Boundary 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.
High brand equity
– Isg Boundary has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Isg Boundary to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Isg Boundary is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Isg Boundary 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 Andreas Schotter 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Isg Boundary digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Isg Boundary 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Isg Boundary 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Isg Boundary 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Isg Boundary has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Isg Boundary is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Isg Boundary 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Isg Boundary is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Isg Boundary 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group, it seems that the employees of Isg Boundary 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Isg Boundary 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Isg Boundary, firm in the HBR case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Isg Boundary 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Isg Boundary 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 Isg Boundary 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 - Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Isg Boundary 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. Isg Boundary 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Isg Boundary has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Isg Boundary is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group, in the dynamic environment Isg Boundary has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Isg Boundary has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group | 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Isg Boundary 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, Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Isg Boundary has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Isg Boundary to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group case study. Isg Boundary can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Isg Boundary can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Isg Boundary 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Isg Boundary to increase its market reach. Isg Boundary 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Isg Boundary can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Isg Boundary 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Isg Boundary to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Isg Boundary 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Isg Boundary can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Isg Boundary 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Isg Boundary 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.
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. Isg Boundary 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. Isg Boundary 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.
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 Isg Boundary 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.
Threats Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group are -
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 Isg Boundary business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Isg Boundary 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 Isg Boundary with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Isg Boundary 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. Isg Boundary can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Isg Boundary has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Isg Boundary 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.
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 Isg Boundary in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline 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. Isg Boundary 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Isg Boundary 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group, Isg Boundary 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 .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Isg Boundary 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.
Increasing wage structure of Isg Boundary
– 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 Isg Boundary.
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. Isg Boundary needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Homero Rodriguez: Boundary Spanning at International Services Group 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 Isg Boundary needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
