Leadership and Choice Theory SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership and Choice Theory
"This technical note explores leadership through the framework of choice theory. As human beings, we actively engage in four strongly interconnected domains of choice: our activities, our thinking, our feelings, and our physiology. Effective leaders understand the behaviors they are choosing and the potential consequences of those behaviors for others. Choice theory provides a framework for choosing behaviors that solve problems and create value. This note is used as a background reading in Darden's Leadership Learning Lab and in several Executive Education offerings."
Swot Analysis of "Leadership and Choice Theory" written by Alexander B. Horniman, includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Behaviors Choice facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership and Choice Theory case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership and Choice Theory casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
technology disruption, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership and Choice Theory
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership and Choice Theory case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Behaviors Choice, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Behaviors Choice 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 and Choice Theory can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership and Choice Theory case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Behaviors Choice
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 Behaviors Choice
Strengths Leadership and Choice Theory | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Behaviors Choice in Leadership and Choice Theory Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Behaviors Choice 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 Alexander B. Horniman, 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Behaviors Choice 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 and Choice Theory HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Behaviors Choice is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leadership and Choice Theory 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.
Organizational Resilience of Behaviors Choice
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Behaviors Choice does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Behaviors Choice 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Behaviors Choice is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership and Choice Theory 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 brand equity
– Behaviors Choice has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Behaviors Choice to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Behaviors Choice in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership and Choice Theory has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Behaviors Choice to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leadership and Choice Theory 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.
Learning organization
- Behaviors Choice 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 Behaviors Choice is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Leadership and Choice Theory Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Behaviors Choice 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 Behaviors Choice in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Behaviors Choice 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 and Choice Theory - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Leadership and Choice Theory | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership and Choice Theory are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Leadership and Choice Theory 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 Behaviors Choice 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Alexander B. Horniman, suggests that, Behaviors Choice 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leadership and Choice Theory, in the dynamic environment Behaviors Choice has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Behaviors Choice has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Behaviors Choice has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Behaviors Choice 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Behaviors Choice is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Leadership and Choice Theory can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Behaviors Choice 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Behaviors Choice is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Behaviors Choice needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Behaviors Choice to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leadership and Choice Theory HBR case study mentions - Behaviors Choice 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Behaviors Choice, firm in the HBR case study Leadership and Choice Theory needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Behaviors Choice products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Behaviors Choice needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Leadership and Choice Theory | 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 and Choice Theory are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Behaviors Choice can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Behaviors Choice operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Behaviors Choice can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership and Choice Theory 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Behaviors Choice 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 and Choice Theory - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Behaviors Choice to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Behaviors Choice has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Behaviors Choice to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership and Choice Theory case study. Behaviors Choice can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Behaviors Choice 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.
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 Behaviors Choice 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Behaviors Choice 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.
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. Behaviors Choice can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Behaviors Choice can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Behaviors Choice 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.
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. Behaviors Choice 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. Behaviors Choice 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.
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 Behaviors Choice in the consumer business. Now Behaviors Choice can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Behaviors Choice 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.
Threats Leadership and Choice Theory External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership and Choice Theory are -
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 Behaviors Choice.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Behaviors Choice 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Behaviors Choice is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Behaviors Choice business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Behaviors Choice 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 and Choice Theory .
Environmental challenges
– Behaviors Choice 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. Behaviors Choice can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Behaviors Choice has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Behaviors Choice 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Leadership and Choice Theory, Behaviors Choice 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 .
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. Behaviors Choice 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.
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 Behaviors Choice in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Behaviors Choice 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Behaviors Choice with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Behaviors Choice 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership and Choice Theory 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 and Choice Theory 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 and Choice Theory 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 and Choice Theory 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 and Choice Theory 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 Behaviors Choice needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
