"Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service Harvard Business Review case study are -
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Prison Inmate is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the "Captains of Lives" (B): 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Prison Inmate 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 "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Prison Inmate 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Prison Inmate to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Prison Inmate to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Prison Inmate in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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" (B): 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.
Weaknesses "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Prison Inmate vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 Prison Inmate 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Captains of Lives" (B): 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Prison Inmate 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. Prison Inmate 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service 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 Prison Inmate has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Prison Inmate 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 "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Prison Inmate 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.
Opportunities "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Prison Inmate 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.
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 Prison Inmate 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 Prison Inmate 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Prison Inmate 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.
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" (B): 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.
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. Prison Inmate 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. Prison Inmate 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Prison Inmate 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.
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.
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.
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.
Threats "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service are -
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.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Prison Inmate can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Prison Inmate 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 "Captains of Lives" (B): The Transformation Journey of the Singapore Prison Service .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Prison Inmate has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Prison Inmate 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "Captains of Lives" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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" (B): 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.
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