Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video
A series of video clips of Jack Welch from 1981 to 2001 shows his development as a leader, the evolution of his management approach, and his consistency.
Swot Analysis of "Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video" written by Joseph L. Bower includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Welch 1981 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Leadership and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Welch 1981, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Welch 1981 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Welch 1981
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 Welch 1981
Strengths Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Welch 1981 in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Welch 1981 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.
High brand equity
– Welch 1981 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Welch 1981 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Welch 1981 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Welch 1981 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Welch 1981 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Welch 1981 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 Welch 1981 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Welch 1981 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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
– Welch 1981 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Welch 1981 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Welch 1981 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Welch 1981 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Welch 1981 in the sector have low bargaining power. Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Welch 1981 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Welch 1981 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 Joseph L. Bower 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Welch 1981 is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Welch 1981 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Welch 1981 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, in the dynamic environment Welch 1981 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Welch 1981 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 Welch 1981 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Welch 1981 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Welch 1981, firm in the HBR case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Welch 1981 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 - Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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, Joseph L. Bower suggests that, Welch 1981 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Welch 1981 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, it seems that the employees of Welch 1981 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.
Opportunities Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video | 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Welch 1981 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Welch 1981 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Welch 1981 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Welch 1981 to increase its market reach. Welch 1981 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.
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. Welch 1981 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Welch 1981 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.
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 Welch 1981 in the consumer business. Now Welch 1981 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Welch 1981 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Welch 1981 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Welch 1981 has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Welch 1981 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Welch 1981 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, Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, 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. Welch 1981 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. Welch 1981 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Welch 1981 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.
Threats Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video are -
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. Welch 1981 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Welch 1981 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Welch 1981 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.
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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Welch 1981 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video .
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Welch 1981 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.
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 Welch 1981.
Regulatory challenges
– Welch 1981 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.
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. Welch 1981 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video, Welch 1981 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 Welch 1981 in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Welch 1981
– 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 Welch 1981.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001--The Evolution of a Chief Executive, Video 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 Welch 1981 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.