"Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service
In the late 1990s, faced with a number of burning management issues, a growing inmate population, and a problem of officer recruitment, the director of the Singapore Prison Service implemented a thorough transformation process, developing a new paradigm for modern prison management which impacted the whole of Singaporean society. Case A describes the brave decisions and innovative ideas championed by the directorate, inviting students to slip into the role of senior management and discuss the pros and cons of a key management decision without knowing the outcome (Case B).
Authors :: Thomas Hellwig, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
Swot Analysis of ""Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service" written by Thomas Hellwig, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Prison Inmate facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Coaching, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Prison Inmate, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Prison Inmate 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Prison Inmate
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 Prison Inmate
Strengths "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Prison Inmate in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Prison Inmate 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 Thomas Hellwig, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Prison Inmate is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Prison Inmate has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 Prison Inmate
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Prison Inmate does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Prison Inmate digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Prison Inmate 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Prison Inmate is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Prison Inmate is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Prison Inmate 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Prison Inmate has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Prison Inmate has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service HBR case study mentions - Prison Inmate 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Prison Inmate is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Prison Inmate is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Prison Inmate 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Prison Inmate products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Prison Inmate needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service, 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 Prison Inmate is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Prison Inmate needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Prison Inmate to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service, is just above the industry average. Prison Inmate 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Prison Inmate 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Prison Inmate has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Thomas Hellwig, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries suggests that, Prison Inmate 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.
Opportunities "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service | 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
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. Prison Inmate can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Prison Inmate 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.
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. Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Prison Inmate to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service case study. Prison Inmate can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Prison Inmate in the consumer business. Now Prison Inmate can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Prison Inmate is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Prison Inmate can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Prison Inmate operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Prison Inmate 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Prison Inmate 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Prison Inmate 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Prison Inmate to increase its market reach. Prison Inmate 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Prison Inmate 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, "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
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. Prison Inmate 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Prison Inmate 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Prison Inmate with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Prison Inmate business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Prison Inmate 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.
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 Prison Inmate.
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. Prison Inmate can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Prison Inmate 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.
Environmental challenges
– Prison Inmate needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Prison Inmate can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Prison Inmate
– 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 Prison Inmate.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Prison Inmate is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Prison Inmate needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 Prison Inmate needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of "Captains of Lives" (A): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service
