Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B)
The B case presents, for student evaluation, the comprehensive action plan that Ed Norris instituted when he became Baltimore's police commissioner. This tough, controversial former New York City police strategist exemplifies numerous leadership principles as revealed in the case. He builds commitment from business leaders, community activists, fellow officers, and skeptical politicians, all under intense media scrutiny. Norris reorganizes the department, seeks to effect cultural change, confronts malcontents, uses creative rewards, increases use of technology, and adopts a policy of transparency with the media. Classroom discussion helps students see what it takes to develop an action plan that deals with a seemingly overwhelming list of problems and issues. The A and B cases have been taught together very successfully as a two-day class. Both cases include extensive video clips for both student preparation and faculty use in class. Although similar to the Chicago Park District series this series is ten years newer.
Swot Analysis of "Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B)" written by Gerry Yemen, James G. Clawson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Norris Police facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design, Government, Leadership, Organizational structure and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Norris Police, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Norris Police 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Norris Police
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 Norris Police
Strengths Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Norris Police in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Norris Police has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Norris Police to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Norris Police
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Norris Police 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 Norris Police 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Norris Police is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Norris Police 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) - 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 Norris Police digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Norris Police 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.
Training and development
– Norris Police has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Norris Police in the sector have low bargaining power. Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Norris Police to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Norris Police 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
- Norris Police 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 Norris Police is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Norris Police 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 Gerry Yemen, James G. Clawson 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), in the dynamic environment Norris Police has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Norris Police has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Norris Police 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 - Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Norris Police supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Norris Police vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Norris Police has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Norris Police products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Norris Police needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Norris Police 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), is just above the industry average. Norris Police 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Norris Police is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Norris Police, firm in the HBR case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Norris Police is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Norris Police needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Norris Police to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) | 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Norris Police is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Norris Police can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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 Norris Police 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Norris Police can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Norris Police to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Norris Police to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Norris Police can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Norris Police 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, Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), 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. Norris Police 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. Norris Police 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Norris Police can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Norris Police can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Norris Police 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Norris Police 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.
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 Norris Police in the consumer business. Now Norris Police can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Norris Police with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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. Norris Police needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Norris Police is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Norris Police in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Norris Police has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Norris Police 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Norris Police 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.
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 Norris Police.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Norris Police 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Norris Police 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B), Norris Police 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Norris Police 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. Norris Police can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Edward Norris and the Baltimore Police Department (B) 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 Norris Police needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.