Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)
Five years after the Great Recession, Honeywell's CEO Dave Cote and his executive team reflect on the choices they made to manage costs and earnings forecasts during that uncertain time. They discuss which cost cutting measures they decided to take and their personal decisions of whether or not to accept bonuses in 2009. Cote also discusses the challenges Honeywell faced implementing unpaid work leaves (furloughs) in different parts of the world and how he believes the choices they made during the recession positioned Honeywell to respond to the economic recovery.
Swot Analysis of "Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)" written by Sandra J. Sucher, Susan Winterberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Honeywell Cote facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Ethics, Executive compensation, Forecasting, Manufacturing, Recession, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Honeywell Cote, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Honeywell Cote
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 Honeywell Cote
Strengths Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Honeywell Cote in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Honeywell Cote is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Honeywell Cote 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 Sandra J. Sucher, Susan Winterberg 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 Honeywell Cote
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Honeywell Cote does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Honeywell Cote is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Honeywell Cote has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Honeywell Cote 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Honeywell Cote 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Honeywell Cote digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Honeywell Cote 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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.
Training and development
– Honeywell Cote has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Honeywell Cote in the sector have low bargaining power. Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Honeywell Cote to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Honeywell Cote is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) 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.
Weaknesses Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) 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 Honeywell Cote has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B), in the dynamic environment Honeywell Cote has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Honeywell Cote has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Honeywell Cote is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Honeywell Cote needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Honeywell Cote to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Honeywell Cote 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B), it seems that the employees of Honeywell Cote 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B), is just above the industry average. Honeywell Cote 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Honeywell Cote, firm in the HBR case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Honeywell Cote products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Honeywell Cote needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Honeywell Cote supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Honeywell Cote vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Honeywell Cote can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Honeywell Cote operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Honeywell Cote can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Honeywell Cote to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Honeywell Cote has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Honeywell Cote to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) case study. Honeywell Cote can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Honeywell Cote 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell Cote to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Honeywell Cote 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Honeywell Cote can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Honeywell Cote in the consumer business. Now Honeywell Cote can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Honeywell Cote 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
– Honeywell Cote 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Honeywell Cote can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Honeywell Cote is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) 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.
Threats Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) are -
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 Honeywell Cote.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Honeywell Cote with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Honeywell Cote 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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B) .
Increasing wage structure of Honeywell Cote
– 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 Honeywell Cote.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Honeywell Cote 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.
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 Honeywell Cote business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Honeywell Cote can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Honeywell Cote 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
– Honeywell Cote 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. Honeywell Cote can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Honeywell Cote 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.
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 Honeywell Cote in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Honeywell Cote is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Honeywell Cote 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (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 Honeywell Cote needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
