Case Study Description of EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent
Innovations in big data and machine learning have begun diffusing into various functions at the workplace. The case touches upon the challenges of instituting a culture change within HR divisions of large organizations that might not have fully embraced technology-led hiring that is backed by solid analytics. Using the backdrop of a large IT firm (HCL Technologies), the case provides an appropriate context to debate if technology offerings such as HIREalchemy from EdGE Networks can galvanize the talent acquisition function. Can leveraging such IT help the HR function break out of its "administrative" image, and emerge as a strategic contributor to the organization's direction-setting exercises? Will such technologies dis-intermediate the recruitment function, and potentially disrupt the L&D function? While engaging the learner on these questions, the case also provides an insight into the ground realities of industry sectors such as IT/ITeS that rely on a well-oiled people supply chain.
Swot Analysis of "EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent" written by Debolina Dutta, Shankar Venkatagiri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Function Hr facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Function Hr, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Function Hr
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 Function Hr
Strengths EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Function Hr in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Function Hr are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Function Hr has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Function Hr 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Function Hr digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Function Hr 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.
High brand equity
– Function Hr has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Function Hr to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Function Hr 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 Function Hr in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Function Hr in the sector have low bargaining power. EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Function Hr to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Function Hr is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Function Hr is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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.
Training and development
– Function Hr has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Function Hr to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Function Hr to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 Function Hr has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Debolina Dutta, Shankar Venkatagiri suggests that, Function Hr 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Function Hr is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Function Hr 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Function Hr 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 Function Hr 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Function Hr, firm in the HBR case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent, it seems that the employees of Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent, is just above the industry average. Function Hr 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Function Hr products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Function Hr needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent | 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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, Function Hr can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Function Hr operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Function Hr 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Function Hr has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Function Hr to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent case study. Function Hr can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Function Hr can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Function Hr 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Function Hr can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Function Hr 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.
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. Function Hr 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. Function Hr 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
– Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Function Hr to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Function Hr 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Function Hr 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 Function Hr 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 Function Hr 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 Function Hr 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.
Threats EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent are -
Increasing wage structure of Function Hr
– 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 Function Hr.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Function Hr with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Function Hr 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Function Hr 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.
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. Function Hr needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Function Hr business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Function Hr in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Function Hr has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Function Hr 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.
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. Function Hr can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Function Hr 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. Function Hr 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 EdGE Networks: Making HR Intelligent 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 Function Hr needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.