Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B)
The 2015 case "Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B)" details the success of the manager improvement pilot intervention program discussed in the companion case, "Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (A)." Within one year, the division that ran the program, the Canadian Banking operations division, saw marked improvement in nearly all of the managers who participated in the program. Based on these results, the division continued to hone the intervention program details, and RBC expanded the program across the bank.
Swot Analysis of "Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B)" written by Kathryn Shaw, Debra Schifrin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Royal Program facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Compensation, Human resource management, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Royal Program, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Royal Program 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Royal Program
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 Royal Program
Strengths Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Royal Program in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Royal Program to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Royal Program to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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.
Learning organization
- Royal Program 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 Royal Program is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Royal Program 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
– Royal Program has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Royal Program to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Royal Program is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Royal Program in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Royal Program 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 Kathryn Shaw, Debra Schifrin 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.
Training and development
– Royal Program has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Royal Program is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Royal Program 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 Royal Program in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Royal Program in the sector have low bargaining power. Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Royal Program to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Royal Program 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. Royal Program 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Royal Program 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Royal Program 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Royal Program is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) HBR case study mentions - Royal Program 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kathryn Shaw, Debra Schifrin suggests that, Royal Program 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Royal Program products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Royal Program needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Royal Program supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Royal Program vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Royal Program 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Royal Program is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Royal Program needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Royal Program to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Royal Program 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.
Opportunities Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) | 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Royal Program is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Royal Program 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Royal Program 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Royal Program 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 Royal Program 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Royal Program 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Royal Program to increase its market reach. Royal Program 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Royal Program 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Royal Program 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, Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B), 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
– Royal Program 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Royal Program to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Royal Program 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Royal Program can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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.
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. Royal Program can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Royal Program has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Royal Program 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.
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 Royal Program business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Royal Program
– 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 Royal Program.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Royal Program 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.
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 Royal Program.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Royal Program 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 Royal Program in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Royal Program is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Regulatory challenges
– Royal Program 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.
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. Royal Program can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B), Royal Program 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B) 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 Royal Program needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
