IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners
IBM's Corporate Citizenship office created an innovation in public education through a business-school partnership for widespread replication and diffusion. In 2012, while P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) was still in its first year operating, Stanley Litow, IBM's Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation, found himself overwhelmed by interested parties who wanted to replicate the model. Chicago Mayor Emanuel, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation in Idaho, the New York City Department of Education, and New York Governor Cuomo were all in various stages of implementing the concept. Chicago launched five schools in 2012 that were inspired by the P-TECH model, with IBM partnering with one school. New York City developed five more schools; two were scheduled to open in fall 2013 and three more in fall 2014. New York launched a Request for Proposal with plans to open 16 of these schools in fall 2014. Meanwhile IBM remained engaged at the federal level to help accelerate the replication through policy changes. This case explores the challenges and complications of replication.
Tags :: Joint ventures, Leadership, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ibm Replication facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Leadership, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners casestudy better are - – technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ibm Replication, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ibm Replication 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ibm Replication
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 Ibm Replication
Strengths IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ibm Replication in IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ibm Replication has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ibm Replication 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 brand equity
– Ibm Replication has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ibm Replication to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Ibm Replication 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ibm Replication 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ibm Replication in the sector have low bargaining power. IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ibm Replication to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ibm Replication 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ibm Replication is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ibm Replication 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
- Ibm Replication 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 Ibm Replication is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ibm Replication in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Ibm Replication is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners are -
Need for greater diversity
– Ibm Replication 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners, in the dynamic environment Ibm Replication has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ibm Replication has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners, it seems that the employees of Ibm Replication 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners, is just above the industry average. Ibm Replication needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High 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 Ibm Replication supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ibm Replication vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone suggests that, Ibm Replication 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ibm Replication 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 Ibm Replication has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ibm Replication 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ibm Replication 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 Ibm Replication, firm in the HBR case study IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners | 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners are -
Loyalty marketing
– Ibm Replication has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ibm Replication to increase its market reach. Ibm Replication 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ibm Replication 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 Ibm Replication to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Ibm Replication can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ibm Replication 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
– Ibm Replication 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ibm Replication 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.
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 Ibm Replication 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.
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. Ibm Replication 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. Ibm Replication 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ibm Replication 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.
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. Ibm Replication 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 Ibm Replication can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Ibm Replication can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 Ibm Replication in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ibm Replication 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.
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 Ibm Replication.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners, Ibm Replication 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ibm Replication 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.
Increasing wage structure of Ibm Replication
– 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 Ibm Replication.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ibm Replication 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ibm Replication with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ibm Replication 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ibm Replication 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.
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 Ibm Replication business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners 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 Ibm Replication needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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