Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed

This case is part of a four part series that examines the merger of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Military Center at Bethesda - the most expensive, controversial and largest hospital merger in US history. The series includes: A case + A teaching note (Leadership of VADM Mateczun); B case + B teaching note (Army/Navy cultural issues); Epilogue (short conclusion); Film - award winning short documentary. The A case focuses on the leadership of Vice Admiral Dr. John Mateczun, a three-star Navy admiral who led the merger. Mateczun achieved what many considered to be a minor miracle - integrating Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval in the face of fierce institutional resistance. But in his drive to see the plan through, Mateczun stretched the limit of military authority, expended his political capital and alienated friends and colleagues. The case allows discussion of leadership styles and the importance of persuasion, negotiation, communication issues, and personal character. There are two companion cases and a 17-minute film. The film shows a brief history of the hospitals, explains the BRAC (Base Closure Commission), and shows the intensity and urgency of the medical needs of patients being cared for at Walter Reed during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The B Case focuses on the difficulties of merging organizations with significant cultural differences. It may be taught together with the (A) case or on its own with the video. The short Epilogue looks at the outcome in 2014, 3 years after the merger. Case number 2035.0

Authors :: Linda Bilmes, Matt Mabe

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Government, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed" written by Linda Bilmes, Matt Mabe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Walter Reed facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions and Leadership & Managing People.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Walter Reed, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Walter Reed
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 Walter Reed

---

Strengths Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Walter Reed in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High brand equity

– Walter Reed has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Walter Reed to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Walter Reed in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Walter Reed in the sector have low bargaining power. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Walter Reed to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Learning organization

- Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Walter Reed 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.

Analytics focus

– Walter Reed 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 Linda Bilmes, Matt Mabe 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.

Organizational Resilience of Walter Reed

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Walter Reed does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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

– Walter Reed is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

---

---

Weaknesses Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Walter Reed 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Walter Reed has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Walter Reed even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, it seems that the employees of Walter Reed 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Walter Reed is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Walter Reed is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Walter Reed needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Walter Reed vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Walter Reed 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed HBR case study mentions - Walter Reed takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Need for greater diversity

– Walter Reed 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.

---

Opportunities Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed | 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -

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 Walter Reed 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Walter Reed to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Walter Reed 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Walter Reed can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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

– Walter Reed 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Walter Reed to increase its market reach. Walter Reed 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Walter Reed 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Walter Reed is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Walter Reed has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Walter Reed to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed case study. Walter Reed can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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. Walter Reed 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. Walter Reed 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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 Walter Reed in the consumer business. Now Walter Reed can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Walter Reed can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

---

Threats Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Walter Reed with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Walter Reed 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Walter Reed 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.

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. Walter Reed can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Walter Reed is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Walter Reed 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.

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 Walter Reed business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed, Walter Reed 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 .

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Walter Reed 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed .

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 Walter Reed 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Walter Reed 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (B): Integrating Army and Navy Cultures at the New Walter Reed 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 Walter Reed needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---