Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has been a 75-year-old technology leader with operations across 170 countries and an employee strength of over 3,20,000 employees. In 2013, HP launched Actionable Analytics Services (HAVEn) a Big Data analytics platform, leveraging the capabilities of Hadoop, Autonomy, Vertica, Enterprise Security, and n applications. HP enterprise wanted to mobilize the prospective and existing customer base to embrace the HAVEn offering. Historically, large organizations had a fair coverage and influence on the entire sales cycle with them driving need identification all the way through to influencing the purchase decision and purchase. However, recent studies started showing that this was changing, and nearly 70% of the purchase decision was made before engaging a sales representative independent of the offering. The HAVEn team was aware of this shift in trend, and for an enterprise class product, with high initial investment needs and relatively new outlook to how businesses could extract value; the need to influence sales cycle right from stage-one to drive adoption was an important task. Pramod Singh, Director of HP digital analytics and Ayush Jain, manager of HP social media analytics were approached by the HAVEn team to help them identify the most relevant influencers in the Big Data space and help device a strategy of engagement with the same. Topic relevant influencer identification was tough considering the volume, velocity, and complexity of social media content. Quantifying the influence of the brands, thereby enabling comparison and competitive benchmarking was even more difficult. The problem of firstly defining influence, and then identifying influencers relevant to a topic of interest, in real time, using a data source that was high volume, high velocity with little or no structure, was a challenge that enticed Pramod and Ayush to group their best talent pool together.
Authors :: Srujana H M, Sudeep Chatterjee, Kratika Shakya, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan
Swot Analysis of "Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout" written by Srujana H M, Sudeep Chatterjee, Kratika Shakya, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hp Haven facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hp Haven, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hp Haven 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hp Haven
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 Hp Haven
Strengths Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hp Haven in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hp Haven is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hp Haven 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 Hp Haven in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Training and development
– Hp Haven has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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
– Hp Haven has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hp Haven to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hp Haven 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.
Learning organization
- Hp Haven 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 Hp Haven is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Hp Haven
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hp Haven does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hp Haven 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hp Haven 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Hp Haven digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hp Haven 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hp Haven in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hp Haven 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, Hp Haven 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. Hp Haven 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 Hp Haven 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 - Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Hp Haven has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hp Haven is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hp Haven needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hp Haven to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Hp Haven 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hp Haven is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Srujana H M, Sudeep Chatterjee, Kratika Shakya, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan suggests that, Hp Haven is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hp Haven products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hp Haven 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 Hp Haven supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hp Haven vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hp Haven is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout | 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout are -
Loyalty marketing
– Hp Haven 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hp Haven 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.
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. Hp Haven can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Hp Haven 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hp Haven 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
– Hp Haven can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hp Haven 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hp Haven to increase its market reach. Hp Haven 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.
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 Hp Haven in the consumer business. Now Hp Haven can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hp Haven 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hp Haven can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Hp Haven can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hp Haven 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. Hp Haven 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.
Threats Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout are -
Environmental challenges
– Hp Haven 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. Hp Haven can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hp Haven 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 Hp Haven 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. Hp Haven can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Hp Haven.
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. Hp Haven 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hp Haven 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout, Hp Haven 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 .
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. Hp Haven needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Hp Haven 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.
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.
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 Hp Haven in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Science of Social Influence - HP Brandclout 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 Hp Haven needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.