Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business
Setting a strategic direction for a business school, initiating a culture change, and overcoming a massive financial deficit were challenges faced by the incoming dean of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Alison Davis-Blake. Of the four strategic pillars adopted-analytical rigor, action learning, boundarylessness, and a focus on the positive-the positive pillar was both the most controversial and the most differentiating. After experiencing dramatic success over a five-year period, Davis-Blake stepped down and a new dean was appointed, Scott DeRue. He had to determine whether to keep the positive pillar or abandon it.
Swot Analysis of "Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business" written by Kim Cameron, Jane Dutton, Robert Quinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Positive Blake facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Positive Blake, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Positive Blake 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Positive Blake
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 Positive Blake
Strengths Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Positive Blake in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Positive Blake 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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.
High brand equity
– Positive Blake has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Positive Blake to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Positive Blake is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Positive Blake in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Positive Blake is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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
– Positive Blake is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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
- Positive Blake 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 Positive Blake is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Positive Blake digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Positive Blake 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Positive Blake has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Positive Blake 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Positive Blake 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Positive Blake 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.
Weaknesses Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, it seems that the employees of Positive Blake 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, is just above the industry average. Positive Blake 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Positive Blake 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Positive Blake supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Positive Blake vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Positive Blake products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Positive Blake needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Positive Blake has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, in the dynamic environment Positive Blake has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Positive Blake has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Positive Blake has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Positive Blake is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Positive Blake is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Positive Blake needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Positive Blake to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kim Cameron, Jane Dutton, Robert Quinn suggests that, Positive Blake 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business | 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business are -
Buying journey improvements
– Positive Blake can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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.
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. Positive Blake 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. Positive Blake 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 Positive Blake in the consumer business. Now Positive Blake can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Positive Blake to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Positive Blake to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Positive Blake can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Positive Blake can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Positive Blake operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Positive Blake 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, Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Positive Blake 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Positive Blake 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Positive Blake 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Positive Blake can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Positive Blake has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Positive Blake to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business case study. Positive Blake can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Positive Blake to increase its market reach. Positive Blake will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Positive Blake has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Positive Blake 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.
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. Positive Blake 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.
Environmental challenges
– Positive Blake 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. Positive Blake can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Positive Blake 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business, Positive Blake 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Positive Blake 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Positive Blake 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 Positive Blake in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Positive Blake 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business .
Regulatory challenges
– Positive Blake 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.
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 Positive Blake business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Positive Blake 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Emphasizing the Positive: Forming a Strategic Identity for the Ross School of Business 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 Positive Blake needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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