Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston
On the night of November 28, 2006, Reverend Jeffrey Brown, a Baptist minister and co-founder of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston, Massachusetts, received bad news: 20-year-old Jahmol Norfleet, a leader in one of Boston's warring gangs, had been shot and killed near his home. Norfleet's death did not simply represent one more grim statistic in a year marred by gang violence in Boston: it threatened to undo a fragile truce between two gangs that had been locked in a deadly feud for years. Brown, along with a handful of police and other officials, had been instrumental in coaxing gang members, Norfleet among them, to the table and forging peace between the rival groups. Less than a decade earlier, the so-called "Boston miracle"-a dramatic decline in homicides, especially among the city's youth-was singled out by President Clinton as a model for the rest of the nation. Among the heroes of that miracle were Brown and his fellow co-founders of the Ten Point Coalition, a group of African American clergymen. In addition to walking the most dangerous streets in the city in an effort to reach out to gang members, Brown and other Coalition members had also become participants in a citywide initiative-Operation Ceasefire, a "partnership" of the Boston police, probation officers, court officials, youth workers, prosecutors, academics, and others-which was widely credited with the steep in gang-related killings. The success had brought national and international acclaim, but ultimately led to a fracturing of both the Coalition and the Operation Ceasefire alliance. Now, faced with a resurgence in gang shootings, Brown, along with others who had participated in Operation Ceasefire, sought not only to revive the strategies that had proved so successful in the past, but also to find new ways to halt the cycle of retaliatory killings that had brought Boston's homicide rate to a ten-year high. HKS Case Number 1887.0
Swot Analysis of "Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston" written by Esther Scott, Peter Zimmerman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gang Brown facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Negotiations, Policy, Public relations, Security & privacy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gang Brown, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gang Brown 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gang Brown
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 Gang Brown
Strengths Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gang Brown in Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gang Brown to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gang Brown to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gang Brown 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Gang Brown 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 Gang Brown is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gang Brown is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gang Brown 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 Gang Brown in the sector have low bargaining power. Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gang Brown to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Gang Brown is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gang Brown has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gang Brown 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gang Brown 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.
High brand equity
– Gang Brown has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gang Brown to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gang Brown 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Gang Brown
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gang Brown does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Esther Scott, Peter Zimmerman suggests that, Gang Brown 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston, it seems that the employees of Gang Brown 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gang Brown is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Gang Brown needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gang Brown to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Gang Brown supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gang Brown vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gang Brown 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 - Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Gang Brown needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Need for greater diversity
– Gang Brown 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gang Brown 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Gang Brown 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gang Brown, firm in the HBR case study Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Gang Brown 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.
Opportunities Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston | 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gang Brown has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gang Brown to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston case study. Gang Brown 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, Gang Brown 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gang Brown can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gang Brown 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 Gang Brown to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gang Brown 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gang Brown to increase its market reach. Gang Brown 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gang Brown can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gang Brown 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gang Brown to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Gang Brown can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gang Brown 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Gang Brown 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gang Brown 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Gang Brown 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.
Threats Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gang Brown 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gang Brown has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gang Brown 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.
Increasing wage structure of Gang Brown
– 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 Gang Brown.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gang Brown with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gang Brown 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.
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.
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 Gang Brown in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gang Brown 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gang Brown 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.
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. Gang Brown needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Gang Brown 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston, Gang Brown 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Revisiting Gang Violence in Boston 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 Gang Brown needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
