In this fictional case, Jennifer Gaston, founder and CEO of mid-sized luxury jewelry company Aquamarine, was managing a couple of key hiring issues that had recently cropped up. In just six months, Gaston had brought in a new COO and was about to finalize a multi-month search for a CFO. Although she had nearly completed the transformation of her executive team, she still needed to thoroughly check references on the CFO candidate and extend a formal offer. A lot was riding on these positions and, despite the help of an executive search firm, hiring for them had not been easy. Students are asked to evaluate several aspects of hiring and prepare role plays for them.
Swot Analysis of "Jennifer Gaston" written by Jim Ellis, Bethany Coates includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gaston Hiring facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jennifer Gaston case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Hiring, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jennifer Gaston casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jennifer Gaston case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gaston Hiring, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gaston Hiring 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 Jennifer Gaston can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jennifer Gaston case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gaston Hiring
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 Gaston Hiring
Strengths Jennifer Gaston | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gaston Hiring in Jennifer Gaston Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gaston Hiring 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 Jennifer Gaston HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gaston Hiring digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gaston Hiring 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gaston Hiring is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jennifer Gaston 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Gaston Hiring 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gaston Hiring 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gaston Hiring in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Jennifer Gaston firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gaston Hiring to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gaston Hiring to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gaston Hiring 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gaston Hiring has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gaston Hiring 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 lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Gaston Hiring 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 Gaston Hiring in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Gaston Hiring has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gaston Hiring to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Gaston Hiring 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 Gaston Hiring is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jennifer Gaston Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Jennifer Gaston | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jennifer Gaston are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gaston Hiring is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jennifer Gaston can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gaston Hiring 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. Gaston Hiring 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Gaston Hiring 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gaston Hiring products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gaston Hiring needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gaston Hiring 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gaston Hiring, firm in the HBR case study Jennifer Gaston needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gaston Hiring 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 - Jennifer Gaston should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gaston Hiring is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Gaston Hiring needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gaston Hiring to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jennifer Gaston 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 Jennifer Gaston can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gaston Hiring is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Gaston Hiring supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Jennifer Gaston, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gaston Hiring vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Jennifer Gaston 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 Gaston Hiring 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Jennifer Gaston | 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 Jennifer Gaston are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gaston Hiring 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Gaston Hiring 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Gaston Hiring 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gaston Hiring 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, Jennifer Gaston, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gaston Hiring is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jennifer Gaston 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 Gaston Hiring 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 Gaston Hiring to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gaston Hiring 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. Gaston Hiring 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. Gaston Hiring 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.
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. Gaston Hiring can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gaston Hiring 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gaston Hiring has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gaston Hiring to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jennifer Gaston case study. Gaston Hiring can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gaston Hiring 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gaston Hiring 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.
Threats Jennifer Gaston External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jennifer Gaston are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gaston Hiring is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Gaston Hiring needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
High 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. Gaston Hiring needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Gaston Hiring 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gaston Hiring 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gaston Hiring 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 Jennifer Gaston .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gaston Hiring 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 Gaston Hiring business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Gaston Hiring 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. Gaston Hiring can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Gaston Hiring.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gaston Hiring in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Jennifer Gaston, Gaston Hiring 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jennifer Gaston 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 Jennifer Gaston 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 Jennifer Gaston 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 Jennifer Gaston 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 Jennifer Gaston 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 Gaston Hiring needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.