Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management
Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) charted a success story starting out as the smallest new entrant in Hong Kong's highly competitive telecom industry in 1999 and went on to become the second largest provider of residential broadband within 10 years. State-of-the-art fiber network infrastructure allowed HKBN to offer high-quality high-speed telecom services at competitive prices. However, the company soon realized that its technological edge could be easily replicated. Its competitive advantage was actually vested in its 2,500 employees - all referred to as Talents. HKBN instituted a unique co-ownership scheme whereby employees were invited to invest up to two years of salary in the company. It also made sustained investment in talent development through well-designed learning programs coupled with significant empowerment on the job. The case outlines the importance of leadership and talent management as key drivers of growth for the company. HKBN listed in early 2015 and embarked upon its next phase of growth with the aim of becoming the largest broadband service provider by 2019, overtaking its largest competitor and entrenched incumbent, PCCW. HKBN looked to its Talents to rise to the challenge once again. Learning objective: - To identify ways of linking the talent management strategy to the business strategy - To outline different ways of embedding the talent strategy at the core of an organization - To build a high-performance organizational culture through people practices - To discover management models that not only result in returns for shareholders but also take into account employees as key stakeholders.
Swot Analysis of "Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management" written by Shlomo Ben-Hur, Ivy Buche includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hkbn Broadband facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Strategy, Talent management, Work-life balance and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hkbn Broadband, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hkbn Broadband
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 Hkbn Broadband
Strengths Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hkbn Broadband in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Hkbn Broadband 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 Hkbn Broadband is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hkbn Broadband digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hkbn Broadband in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hkbn Broadband is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband in the sector have low bargaining power. Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hkbn Broadband to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Shlomo Ben-Hur, Ivy Buche 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hkbn Broadband is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hkbn Broadband 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hkbn Broadband to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hkbn Broadband to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, is just above the industry average. Hkbn Broadband 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 Hkbn Broadband, firm in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hkbn Broadband 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. Hkbn Broadband 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hkbn Broadband is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hkbn Broadband has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hkbn Broadband 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hkbn Broadband has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, in the dynamic environment Hkbn Broadband has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hkbn Broadband has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hkbn Broadband 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.
Opportunities Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management | 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
Buying journey improvements
– Hkbn Broadband can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hkbn Broadband 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.
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 Hkbn Broadband 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hkbn Broadband 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hkbn Broadband is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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.
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 Hkbn Broadband in the consumer business. Now Hkbn Broadband can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Hkbn Broadband 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hkbn Broadband 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hkbn Broadband can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Hkbn Broadband can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hkbn Broadband to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management are -
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 Hkbn Broadband business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hkbn Broadband 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hkbn Broadband with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Hkbn Broadband can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Hkbn Broadband needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hkbn Broadband 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 wage structure of Hkbn Broadband
– 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 Hkbn Broadband.
Environmental challenges
– Hkbn Broadband 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. Hkbn Broadband can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management, Hkbn Broadband 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 .
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hkbn Broadband 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management 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 Hkbn Broadband needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
