Case Study Description of Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy
Ron Guntz, commander of recruiting for Israel's Special Forces, had been instructed by his superiors to evaluate the process by which he selected solders for its 20-month long training program. Was the Army conducting this process in an ideal manner? The case examines the Special Forces training in light of the types of missions soldiers are expected to execute and asks students to consider whether the Special Forces recruitment and training process identifies the best possible candidates for future Special Forces service.
Authors :: Boris Groysberg, Tal Riesenfeld, Eliot Sherman
Swot Analysis of "Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy" written by Boris Groysberg, Tal Riesenfeld, Eliot Sherman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Special Forces facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Hiring, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Special Forces, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Special Forces
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 Special Forces
Strengths Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Special Forces in Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Special Forces 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 Boris Groysberg, Tal Riesenfeld, Eliot Sherman 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Special Forces 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 Special Forces in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Special Forces in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Special Forces is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Special Forces has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Organizational Resilience of Special Forces
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Special Forces does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Special Forces to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Special Forces to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Special Forces in the sector have low bargaining power. Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Special Forces to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Special Forces 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.
Weaknesses Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Special Forces is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Special Forces needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Special Forces to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy, is just above the industry average. Special Forces 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Special Forces, firm in the HBR case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Special Forces 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy, 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy HBR case study mentions - Special Forces 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Special Forces 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy, in the dynamic environment Special Forces has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Special Forces has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Special Forces supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Special Forces vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Special Forces 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. Special Forces 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Special Forces needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy | 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Special Forces to increase its market reach. Special Forces 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Special Forces 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.
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. Special Forces 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. Special Forces 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Special Forces is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Special Forces 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, Special Forces 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, Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Special Forces 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Special Forces has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Special Forces to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy case study. Special Forces can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Special Forces in the consumer business. Now Special Forces can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Special Forces can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Special Forces 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Special Forces can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Special Forces operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Special Forces is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Special Forces
– 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 Special Forces.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Special Forces 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.
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 Special Forces business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Special Forces can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Special Forces 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. Special Forces can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Special Forces 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Special Forces 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Special Forces with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Special Forces in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Special Forces 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Israeli Special Forces: Selection Strategy 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 Special Forces needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.