Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B)
Documents the hectic and grueling work done by Jill Greenthal's team at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in an attempt to execute a landmark deal on behalf of a key client.
Authors :: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp
Swot Analysis of "Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B)" written by Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Donaldson Jenrette facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Leadership, Supply chain and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Donaldson Jenrette, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Donaldson Jenrette 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Donaldson Jenrette
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 Donaldson Jenrette
Strengths Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Donaldson Jenrette in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Donaldson Jenrette in the sector have low bargaining power. Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Donaldson Jenrette to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Donaldson Jenrette has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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.
High brand equity
– Donaldson Jenrette has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Donaldson Jenrette to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Donaldson Jenrette 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
– Donaldson Jenrette 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Donaldson Jenrette is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Donaldson Jenrette 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 Donaldson Jenrette in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Donaldson Jenrette 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 Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Sarah Thorp 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.
Organizational Resilience of Donaldson Jenrette
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Donaldson Jenrette does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Donaldson Jenrette to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Donaldson Jenrette to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Donaldson Jenrette is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Donaldson Jenrette 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) - 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), is just above the industry average. Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), it seems that the employees of Donaldson Jenrette 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, Donaldson Jenrette 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Donaldson Jenrette 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. Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Donaldson Jenrette 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 - Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), in the dynamic environment Donaldson Jenrette has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Donaldson Jenrette has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Donaldson Jenrette is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) HBR case study mentions - Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Donaldson Jenrette, firm in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) | 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) are -
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. Donaldson Jenrette 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, Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Donaldson Jenrette 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, Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), 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 Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Donaldson Jenrette 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 Donaldson Jenrette to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Donaldson Jenrette has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Donaldson Jenrette to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) case study. Donaldson Jenrette 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 Donaldson Jenrette can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Donaldson Jenrette can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Donaldson Jenrette operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Donaldson Jenrette 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Donaldson Jenrette 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) .
Regulatory challenges
– Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Environmental challenges
– Donaldson Jenrette 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. Donaldson Jenrette 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
– Donaldson Jenrette has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Donaldson Jenrette 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.
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. Donaldson Jenrette 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B), Donaldson Jenrette 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Donaldson Jenrette is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Donaldson Jenrette in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Donaldson Jenrette.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Donaldson Jenrette 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.
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. Donaldson Jenrette 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 Donaldson Jenrette business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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 Jill Greenthal at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette: The TCI/AT&T Deal (B) 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 Donaldson Jenrette needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.