How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility
Grade inflation is rampant across universities, colleges, academic majors, and certainly in American business schools. Extensive evidence shows that the distribution of college GPAs is skewed sharply toward high grades. Consequently, GPAs often poorly convey students' relative academic achievement, sending a muddled message to prospective employers. This article explores the causes and consequences of grade inflation. It concludes with six recommendations for employers who want to encourage college administrators to control collegiate grade inflation, thereby strengthening the accuracy and value of a GPA in the processes of applicant evaluation and job placement.
Swot Analysis of "How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility" written by John A. Pearce includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gpas Grade facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Education and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gpas Grade, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gpas Grade
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 Gpas Grade
Strengths How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gpas Grade in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gpas Grade is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gpas Grade digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gpas Grade 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Gpas Grade is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gpas Grade has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Learning organization
- Gpas Grade 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 Gpas Grade is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gpas Grade 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.
High brand equity
– Gpas Grade has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gpas Grade to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gpas Grade to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gpas Grade to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Gpas Grade
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gpas Grade does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Gpas Grade has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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.
Weaknesses How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 Gpas Grade 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gpas Grade is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John A. Pearce suggests that, Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gpas Grade is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Gpas Grade supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gpas Grade vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gpas Grade products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gpas Grade needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Gpas Grade 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gpas Grade, firm in the HBR case study How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gpas Grade is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Gpas Grade needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gpas Grade to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Gpas Grade 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility | 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gpas Grade 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gpas Grade 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gpas Grade 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, How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Gpas Grade in the consumer business. Now Gpas Grade can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gpas Grade 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gpas Grade has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gpas Grade to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility case study. Gpas Grade can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Gpas Grade can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gpas Grade 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. Gpas Grade can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gpas Grade can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gpas Grade 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gpas Grade 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.
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. Gpas Grade can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility are -
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. Gpas Grade 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 wage structure of Gpas Grade
– 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 Gpas Grade.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gpas Grade 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.
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 Gpas Grade.
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gpas Grade 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.
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 Gpas Grade in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Gpas Grade needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Gpas Grade 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. Gpas Grade can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gpas Grade 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gpas Grade 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gpas Grade is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 How Employers Can Stanch the Hemorrhaging of Collegiate GPA Credibility 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 Gpas Grade needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
