Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra
The Red Tops, an African-American dance orchestra that performed in southern states during the period spanning two decades before and after the U.S. civil rights movement, might seem a rather unexpected source for the study of effective leadership. Nonetheless, Walter Osborne's management of the group provides an exceedingly appropriate case for just that. In this article, we examine the phenomenon of team leadership using a sociohistorical paradigm to identify and describe effective team leadership, draw lessons for organizational leaders, and demonstrate the power of sociohistorical analysis. In our endeavor, we used the framework proposed by Morgeson, Lindoerfer, and Loring to explain how the team needs of the Red Tops were met by the team leadership of Osborne, the band's elected manager. The main lesson for business team leaders is to ensure that every member feels free to express his or her own identity, while still preserving the shared identity of the team. The team's ability to function and remain intact over a long period of time is enhanced by the ability of the team leader to meet team needs-in terms of trust, fairness, and equality-such that each member may experience what it means to be a true part of the group.
Authors :: Milorad M. Novicevic, John Humphreys, M. Ronald Buckley, Corey Cagle
Swot Analysis of "Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra" written by Milorad M. Novicevic, John Humphreys, M. Ronald Buckley, Corey Cagle includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sociohistorical Tops facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leading teams and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sociohistorical Tops, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sociohistorical Tops 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sociohistorical Tops
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 Sociohistorical Tops
Strengths Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sociohistorical Tops in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sociohistorical Tops in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sociohistorical Tops is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Sociohistorical Tops 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 Sociohistorical Tops is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Sociohistorical Tops 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 Milorad M. Novicevic, John Humphreys, M. Ronald Buckley, Corey Cagle 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Sociohistorical Tops is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Sociohistorical Tops 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 Sociohistorical Tops in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sociohistorical Tops to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sociohistorical Tops to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Sociohistorical Tops has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sociohistorical Tops to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Sociohistorical Tops is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sociohistorical Tops has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sociohistorical Tops has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Organizational Resilience of Sociohistorical Tops
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sociohistorical Tops does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra, is just above the industry average. Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sociohistorical Tops is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sociohistorical Tops, firm in the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra, it seems that the employees of Sociohistorical Tops don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sociohistorical Tops 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. Sociohistorical Tops 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Sociohistorical Tops has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Sociohistorical Tops 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Opportunities Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra | 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sociohistorical Tops has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sociohistorical Tops to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra case study. Sociohistorical Tops can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Sociohistorical Tops 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. Sociohistorical Tops 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.
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. Sociohistorical Tops 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. Sociohistorical Tops can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sociohistorical Tops 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sociohistorical Tops to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sociohistorical Tops is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sociohistorical Tops can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sociohistorical Tops operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Sociohistorical Tops can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Loyalty marketing
– Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sociohistorical Tops can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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.
Threats Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra are -
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
– Sociohistorical Tops 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.
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. Sociohistorical Tops needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Sociohistorical Tops can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sociohistorical Tops 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 Sociohistorical Tops in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sociohistorical Tops has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sociohistorical Tops 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 Sociohistorical Tops business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sociohistorical Tops 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.
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. Sociohistorical Tops 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sociohistorical Tops
– 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 Sociohistorical Tops.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Effective Leadership in Unexpected Places: A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Red Tops Dance Orchestra 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 Sociohistorical Tops needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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