Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams
This case focuses on a major manufacturing division ($1.2 billion sales; 5500 employees) of a global oilfield services company as it converts from a departmental organization with a "traditional" machine shop hierarchy to a team-based environment. During the conversion, roles and responsibilities change from a traditional foreman structure to a Self-Directed Work Team (SDWT) structure for the Radial Bearing Team. Individual behaviors and the dynamics of change influence how the team copes with new responsibilities, authority and problem solving as together, they manage equipment utilization and the day-to-day workflow, and control quality. Some dysfunction arises as the leaders of this organization manage the change process while trying to support the new roles and ideas. The team is successful, but everyone has to encourage innovation while adapting to the changing environment. The case also highlights specific techniques the team adopts for monitoring its performance as it assumes responsibility and accountability for quality improvement. Management had challenged the unit's leadership to produce results that justified the implementation of Self-Directed Work Teams (SDWTs). Now, George Smiley, the machine shop manager, and Shane Husky, the internal OD specialist, had to present evidence to help management decide if expansion of the SDWT program was warranted and the best practices learned from the RBT experience that would contribute to future success.
Authors :: Sean Wirth, Joseph K Kavanaugh, Victor Sower
Swot Analysis of "Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams" written by Sean Wirth, Joseph K Kavanaugh, Victor Sower includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Directed Sdwt facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational structure, Product development and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing energy prices, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Directed Sdwt, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Directed Sdwt 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Directed Sdwt
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 Directed Sdwt
Strengths Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Directed Sdwt in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Directed Sdwt is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Directed Sdwt 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 Directed Sdwt is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Directed Sdwt 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams - 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 Directed Sdwt
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Directed Sdwt does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Directed Sdwt to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Directed Sdwt to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Directed Sdwt is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Directed Sdwt 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Directed Sdwt in the sector have low bargaining power. Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Directed Sdwt to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Directed Sdwt is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Directed Sdwt is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Directed Sdwt has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Directed Sdwt to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Directed Sdwt 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Directed Sdwt is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Directed Sdwt needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Directed Sdwt to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Directed Sdwt 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Directed Sdwt 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Directed Sdwt is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Directed Sdwt 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams, is just above the industry average. Directed Sdwt 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Directed Sdwt has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sean Wirth, Joseph K Kavanaugh, Victor Sower suggests that, Directed Sdwt 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams HBR case study mentions - Directed Sdwt 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.
Opportunities Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams | 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams are -
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. Directed Sdwt 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. Directed Sdwt 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Directed Sdwt can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Directed Sdwt can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Directed Sdwt 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, Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Directed Sdwt 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Directed Sdwt 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.
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. Directed Sdwt can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Directed Sdwt 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Directed Sdwt 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Directed Sdwt 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Directed Sdwt to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Directed Sdwt can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Directed Sdwt 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.
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 Directed Sdwt in the consumer business. Now Directed Sdwt can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams are -
Increasing wage structure of Directed Sdwt
– 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 Directed Sdwt.
Regulatory challenges
– Directed Sdwt 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.
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 Directed Sdwt in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams, Directed Sdwt 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Directed Sdwt with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Directed Sdwt.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Directed Sdwt is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Directed Sdwt can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Directed Sdwt needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Directed Sdwt 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Directed Sdwt 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Radial Bearing Team: A Manufacturing Group's Transformation to Self-Directed Work Teams 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 Directed Sdwt needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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