Swot Analysis of "Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amhaus Milwaukee facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amhaus Milwaukee, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amhaus Milwaukee
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 Amhaus Milwaukee
Strengths Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Amhaus Milwaukee in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Amhaus Milwaukee has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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.
Organizational Resilience of Amhaus Milwaukee
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Amhaus Milwaukee does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Amhaus Milwaukee is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Amhaus Milwaukee to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Amhaus Milwaukee to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Amhaus Milwaukee in the sector have low bargaining power. Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Amhaus Milwaukee to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Amhaus Milwaukee is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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, Matthew Bird 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.
Learning organization
- Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Amhaus Milwaukee digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Amhaus Milwaukee has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Weaknesses Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee, firm in the HBR case study Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Amhaus Milwaukee needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council HBR case study mentions - Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Amhaus Milwaukee is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird suggests that, Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Amhaus Milwaukee needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
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 Amhaus Milwaukee supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Amhaus Milwaukee vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Amhaus Milwaukee has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council | 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amhaus Milwaukee to increase its market reach. Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
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. Amhaus Milwaukee can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Amhaus Milwaukee has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Amhaus Milwaukee to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council case study. Amhaus Milwaukee can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Amhaus Milwaukee 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, Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Amhaus Milwaukee can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Amhaus Milwaukee can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Amhaus Milwaukee operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Threats Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council are -
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 Amhaus Milwaukee business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Amhaus Milwaukee has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
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 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. Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Amhaus Milwaukee with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Amhaus Milwaukee
– 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 Amhaus Milwaukee.
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 Amhaus Milwaukee.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Amhaus Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Milwaukee (B1): Dean Amhaus, President, Water Council 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 Amhaus Milwaukee needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.