JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment
Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate organizations since inception, the U.S. and international JA operations were formally combined on July 1, 2004. Although all the leaders recognized the need for the merger, the process nevertheless proved to be highly sensitive and complex. As part of the compromise, all parties agreed to freeze the JA Worldwide structure for three years. By the end of that period, Chernow knows he must have in place a new model of operations that can accomplish three things: meet JA's mission in terms of its students, serve the internal needs of its members around the world, and be financially sustainable over the long term.
Authors :: Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson
Topics :: Leadership & Managing People
Tags :: Change management, International business, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment" written by Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ja Worldwide facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, International business, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ja Worldwide, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ja Worldwide
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 Ja Worldwide
Strengths JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ja Worldwide in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ja Worldwide is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ja Worldwide digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ja Worldwide 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ja Worldwide to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ja Worldwide to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Ja Worldwide is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Ja Worldwide
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ja Worldwide does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ja Worldwide 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ja Worldwide has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ja Worldwide 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
– Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Ja Worldwide 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 Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson 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.
Weaknesses JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ja Worldwide is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ja Worldwide needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ja Worldwide to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ja Worldwide is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ja Worldwide 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, in the dynamic environment Ja Worldwide has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ja Worldwide has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ja Worldwide 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, it seems that the employees of Ja Worldwide don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ja Worldwide 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. Ja Worldwide 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, is just above the industry average. Ja Worldwide 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 Ja Worldwide 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael Chu, Barbara Zepp Larson suggests that, Ja Worldwide 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ja Worldwide, firm in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment | 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ja Worldwide can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Ja Worldwide in the consumer business. Now Ja Worldwide can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ja Worldwide can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ja Worldwide operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ja Worldwide 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, JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Ja Worldwide can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Ja Worldwide 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ja Worldwide is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ja Worldwide 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ja Worldwide 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ja Worldwide 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ja Worldwide 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ja Worldwide 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, Ja Worldwide 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ja Worldwide 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. Ja Worldwide needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Ja Worldwide.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Ja Worldwide
– 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 Ja Worldwide.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ja Worldwide 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 Ja Worldwide business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment, Ja Worldwide 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 .
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 Ja Worldwide in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ja Worldwide has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ja Worldwide 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 JA Worldwide: Managing Change in Multi-Governed Environment 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 Ja Worldwide needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.