CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth
Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo describes the challenges and opportunities of running one of the world's most successful global medical technology companies. In a wide ranging interview, he explains the thinking behind the different types of acquisitions his company has made; the cultural hiccup that one of those acquisitions led to, and how it was handled; and the importance of focusing on the mid-tier market in emerging markets.
Swot Analysis of "CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth" written by Kevin Lobo, William Mitchell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lobo Kevin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Leadership and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lobo Kevin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lobo Kevin 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lobo Kevin
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 Lobo Kevin
Strengths CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lobo Kevin in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lobo Kevin in the sector have low bargaining power. CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lobo Kevin to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Lobo Kevin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lobo Kevin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Lobo Kevin 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lobo Kevin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Lobo Kevin 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 Kevin Lobo, William Mitchell 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
– Lobo Kevin 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Lobo Kevin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lobo Kevin has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lobo Kevin 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Lobo Kevin 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 Lobo Kevin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Lobo Kevin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Lobo Kevin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lobo Kevin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lobo Kevin is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth HBR case study mentions - Lobo Kevin 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lobo Kevin 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. Lobo Kevin even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 Lobo Kevin 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kevin Lobo, William Mitchell suggests that, Lobo Kevin 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lobo Kevin products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lobo Kevin needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth, in the dynamic environment Lobo Kevin has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lobo Kevin has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lobo Kevin 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lobo Kevin is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lobo Kevin, firm in the HBR case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth, it seems that the employees of Lobo Kevin 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.
Opportunities CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth | 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lobo Kevin to increase its market reach. Lobo Kevin 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lobo Kevin can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lobo Kevin operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lobo Kevin 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lobo Kevin 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, CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth, 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 Lobo Kevin 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.
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 Lobo Kevin in the consumer business. Now Lobo Kevin can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Lobo Kevin 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lobo Kevin can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Lobo Kevin 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.
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. Lobo Kevin can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lobo Kevin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lobo Kevin 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lobo Kevin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lobo Kevin 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.
Threats CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lobo Kevin with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Lobo Kevin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lobo Kevin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lobo Kevin 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.
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 Lobo Kevin in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lobo Kevin 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.
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. Lobo Kevin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Lobo Kevin
– 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 Lobo Kevin.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lobo Kevin 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.
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. Lobo Kevin 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 Lobo Kevin is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lobo Kevin 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 CEO Spotlight: Kevin Lobo on Stryker's Approach to Global Growth 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 Lobo Kevin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
