Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite
Three veterans of the C-suite discuss the current business landscape and some of their key challenges past, present and future. Mark Barrenechea, CEO of OpenText, explains why "Big Data is a bit over-hyped"; Former MasterCard CMO (now Sotheby's CMO) Alfredo Gangotena describes his greatest challenge ever: marketing EuroDisney to Parisians; and Mountain Equipment Co-Op CEO Mark Labistour explains his affinity for Design Thinking, and the importance of working towards a "desired future state" for your customer.
Authors :: David Labistour, Mark Barrenechea, Alfredo Gangotena, Mark Leung
Swot Analysis of "Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite" written by David Labistour, Mark Barrenechea, Alfredo Gangotena, Mark Leung includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cmo Suite facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic thinking and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cmo Suite, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cmo Suite
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 Cmo Suite
Strengths Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cmo Suite in Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Cmo Suite
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cmo Suite does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Cmo Suite has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cmo Suite to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cmo Suite digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cmo Suite 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
– Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cmo Suite to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cmo Suite to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cmo Suite is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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
– Cmo Suite is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Cmo Suite 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 Cmo Suite in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Cmo Suite is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cmo Suite, firm in the HBR case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite, is just above the industry average. Cmo Suite 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, Cmo Suite is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cmo Suite 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. Cmo Suite 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Cmo Suite 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cmo Suite is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Cmo Suite needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cmo Suite to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cmo Suite 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cmo Suite is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cmo Suite 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cmo Suite 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David Labistour, Mark Barrenechea, Alfredo Gangotena, Mark Leung suggests that, Cmo Suite 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.
Opportunities Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite | 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite are -
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 Cmo Suite 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cmo Suite 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, Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cmo Suite 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 Cmo Suite 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cmo Suite to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Cmo Suite can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cmo Suite 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Cmo Suite 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cmo Suite 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cmo Suite has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cmo Suite to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite case study. Cmo Suite can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cmo Suite can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cmo Suite operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Cmo Suite can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Cmo Suite 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. Cmo Suite 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.
Threats Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cmo Suite is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Cmo Suite.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cmo Suite 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cmo Suite 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cmo Suite 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.
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.
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. Cmo Suite needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cmo Suite has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cmo Suite 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cmo Suite 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.
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 Cmo Suite 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. Cmo Suite can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cmo Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Leadership Forum: The View from the C-Suite 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 Cmo Suite needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.