K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C)
Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second-highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first few attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams hoping to reach the summit, and representing eight different countries, to work together for success. Their story is a narrative full of examples, where in some instances, a leadership point of view was taken, and other times it was not. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach makes for a story bursting with real-world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team-building and leadership. Although grounded in the written cases, the series also includes an optional a multimedia supplement offers compelling photos and video for students and instructors. The C case epilogue describes the daunting physical and moral task team members face while descending K2. One of Warner's team members suggests they faced the ultimate moral dilemma: Do you look to your own self-preservation and survive, or do you look to try to help somebody else at all costs?
Swot Analysis of "K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C)" written by James G. Clawson, Gerry Yemen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that K2 Summit facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Data, Decision making, Leadership, Leading teams, Risk management, Strategic thinking and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the K2 Summit, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which K2 Summit 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of K2 Summit
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 K2 Summit
Strengths K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of K2 Summit in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– K2 Summit 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 K2 Summit in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– K2 Summit has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled K2 Summit to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that K2 Summit 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– K2 Summit has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. K2 Summit 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 recruit top talent
– K2 Summit is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- K2 Summit 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 K2 Summit is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– K2 Summit 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 James G. Clawson, Gerry Yemen 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– K2 Summit is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– K2 Summit 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– K2 Summit is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– K2 Summit has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For K2 Summit digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. K2 Summit 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.
Weaknesses K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as K2 Summit is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2 Summit has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C), it seems that the employees of K2 Summit 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.
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 K2 Summit supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left K2 Summit vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though K2 Summit 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 - K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of K2 Summit products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, K2 Summit needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) HBR case study mentions - K2 Summit 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C), in the dynamic environment K2 Summit has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. K2 Summit has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of K2 Summit is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. K2 Summit needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help K2 Summit to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
K2 Summit 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, K2 Summit 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.
Opportunities K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) | 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for K2 Summit 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for K2 Summit 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 K2 Summit 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. K2 Summit 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. K2 Summit 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for K2 Summit 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, K2 Summit can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that K2 Summit operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of K2 Summit has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help K2 Summit to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) case study. K2 Summit can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, K2 Summit 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, K2 Summit is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– K2 Summit 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.
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. K2 Summit can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– K2 Summit 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.
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 K2 Summit 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.
Loyalty marketing
– K2 Summit 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.
Threats K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) are -
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 K2 Summit in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– K2 Summit 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.
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. K2 Summit 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, K2 Summit 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) .
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.
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 K2 Summit business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for K2 Summit 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that K2 Summit is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– K2 Summit 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.
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 K2 Summit.
Consumer confidence and its impact on K2 Summit 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– K2 Summit has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, K2 Summit needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2: Brotherhood of the Rope (C) 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 K2 Summit needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
