Case Study Description of Global Warming Revisited (A)
"Is there statistical evidence of global warming? This case presents two sets of real global temperature data, one from the Met Office and another one from NASA, and asks students to assess if the data indeed support the belief that temperatures have been rising over the last 150+ years. The case is open-ended-it provides the data and references to some popular press articles on the subject. Also available is a B case that presents three sets of analysis typical for MBA students-an efficient starting point for class discussion. "
Swot Analysis of "Global Warming Revisited (A)" written by Anton Ovchinnikov includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Warming Sets facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Global Warming Revisited (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Global Warming Revisited (A) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Warming Revisited (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Global Warming Revisited (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Warming Sets, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Warming Sets 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Global Warming Revisited (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Warming Sets
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 Warming Sets
Strengths Global Warming Revisited (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Warming Sets in Global Warming Revisited (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Warming Sets digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Warming Sets 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.
Organizational Resilience of Warming Sets
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Warming Sets 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
– Global Warming Revisited (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Warming Sets to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Warming Sets to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Warming Sets 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 Warming Sets is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Global Warming Revisited (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Warming Sets has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Warming Sets 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 Warming Sets 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Warming Sets in the sector have low bargaining power. Global Warming Revisited (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Warming Sets to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Warming Sets in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Global Warming Revisited (A) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Warming Sets is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Global Warming Revisited (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Warming Sets has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Warming Sets to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Warming Sets 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.
Weaknesses Global Warming Revisited (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Global Warming Revisited (A) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Warming Sets has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Warming Sets 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Warming Sets products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Warming Sets needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Global Warming Revisited (A) HBR case study mentions - Warming Sets 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Global Warming Revisited (A), is just above the industry average. Warming Sets 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anton Ovchinnikov suggests that, Warming Sets 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Warming Sets is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Warming Sets needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Warming Sets to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Warming Sets 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Warming Sets 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Warming Sets has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Warming Sets 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.
Opportunities Global Warming Revisited (A) | 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Warming Sets 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Warming Sets to increase its market reach. Warming Sets 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Warming Sets has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Warming Sets to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Global Warming Revisited (A) case study. Warming Sets 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
– Warming Sets 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 Warming Sets 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Warming Sets can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Warming Sets can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Global Warming Revisited (A) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Warming Sets can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Warming Sets operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Warming Sets 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Warming Sets 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 Warming Sets to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Warming Sets 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. Warming Sets 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Warming Sets 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Warming Sets to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Warming Sets is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Global Warming Revisited (A) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Warming Sets 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) .
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 Warming Sets business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Warming Sets 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.
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.
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 Warming Sets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Warming Sets 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Warming Sets 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.
Environmental challenges
– Warming Sets 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. Warming Sets can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Global Warming Revisited (A), Warming Sets 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 Warming Sets is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Warming Sets
– 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 Warming Sets.
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. Warming Sets can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Warming Sets in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Global Warming Revisited (A) 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 Warming Sets needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
