IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise
Members of IBM's fifth Integration and Values Team (IVT5) were close to finishing their deliberations. Convened by Sam Palmisano, Chairman and CEO, and sponsored by Jon Iwata, Senior VP of Corporate Communications and Marketing, and John E. Kelly III, Senior VP and Director of Research, the IVT5's focus was on "the global IBMer"-define and develop global leaders; make the "globally integrated enterprise" relevant to all employees through corporate citizenship initiatives reflective of the company's values; and help IBM compete globally by ensuring market access. The scope was all 170 countries in which IBM operated. As leaders who had risen to their positions as systems thinkers committed to innovation, the team knew it was necessary to stand back and look at the big picture-to see how IBM worked now and operate at its best in order to understand the gaps, dilemmas, and opportunities.
Swot Analysis of "IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ibm Ivt5 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, IT and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ibm Ivt5, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ibm Ivt5
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 Ibm Ivt5
Strengths IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ibm Ivt5 in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Ibm Ivt5 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 recruit top talent
– Ibm Ivt5 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Ibm Ivt5
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ibm Ivt5 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ibm Ivt5 in the sector have low bargaining power. IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ibm Ivt5 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ibm Ivt5 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ibm Ivt5 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ibm Ivt5 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ibm Ivt5 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ibm Ivt5 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.
Learning organization
- Ibm Ivt5 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 Ibm Ivt5 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Ibm Ivt5 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 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Ibm Ivt5 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ibm Ivt5 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise HBR case study mentions - Ibm Ivt5 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ibm Ivt5 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ibm Ivt5 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ibm Ivt5 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ibm Ivt5 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise, 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ibm Ivt5 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise, in the dynamic environment Ibm Ivt5 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ibm Ivt5 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests that, Ibm Ivt5 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise, is just above the industry average. Ibm Ivt5 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ibm Ivt5 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 - IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise | 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise are -
Loyalty marketing
– Ibm Ivt5 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ibm Ivt5 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ibm Ivt5 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ibm Ivt5 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ibm Ivt5 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.
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. Ibm Ivt5 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Ibm Ivt5 in the consumer business. Now Ibm Ivt5 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ibm Ivt5 can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ibm Ivt5 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ibm Ivt5 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ibm Ivt5 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, Ibm Ivt5 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, IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise, 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
– Ibm Ivt5 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ibm Ivt5 to increase its market reach. Ibm Ivt5 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.
Threats IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise, Ibm Ivt5 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ibm Ivt5 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ibm Ivt5 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ibm Ivt5 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ibm Ivt5 needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Ibm Ivt5 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Ibm Ivt5 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ibm Ivt5 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
– Ibm Ivt5 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. Ibm Ivt5 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Ibm Ivt5
– 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 Ibm Ivt5.
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 Ibm Ivt5.
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 Ibm Ivt5 in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline 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. Ibm Ivt5 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 IBM in the 21st Century: The Coming of the Globally Integrated Enterprise 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 Ibm Ivt5 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
