Case Study Description of The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version)
This is a role-play case, intended for use in a leadership development course for MBA students. The case has four roles, two each for students playing U.S.- and China-based managers. There are two versions of the case, one for students playing the role of U.S.-based managers (L-22US), and one for students playing the role of China-based managers (L-22CHN). Each version has a set of common facts, plus a set of facts known only to that side. The role-play objectives stated in the case can only be successfully accomplished if the players solicit information from the other side, and work together to reach an agreement. Students must reset post-merger expectations, address the different underlining interests and get the merger plan back on track. They have the opportunity to demonstrate active listening, inquiry, and feedback regarding post-merger expectations at HBT headquarters and at HBT Shanghai. Both pairs of students will go into the meeting with varying objectives and will need to manage the other side's expectations and perceptions in a manner that may be assertive, collaborative, or both.
Swot Analysis of "The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version)" written by Larissa Tiedens, Sheila Melvin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hbt Merger facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, Negotiations and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hbt Merger, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hbt Merger 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hbt Merger
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 Hbt Merger
Strengths The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hbt Merger in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Hbt Merger
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hbt Merger does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hbt Merger digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hbt Merger 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hbt Merger 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 Hbt Merger in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hbt Merger has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hbt Merger 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Hbt Merger is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hbt Merger is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hbt Merger 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Hbt Merger is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Hbt Merger has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hbt Merger to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Hbt Merger 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 Hbt Merger is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hbt Merger 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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.
Weaknesses The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) are -
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 Hbt Merger supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hbt Merger vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hbt Merger 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. Hbt Merger 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 Hbt Merger has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 Hbt Merger 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hbt Merger products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hbt Merger needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hbt Merger 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hbt Merger, firm in the HBR case study The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version), it seems that the employees of Hbt Merger 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hbt Merger has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hbt Merger 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Hbt Merger 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.
Opportunities The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) | 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hbt Merger 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hbt Merger is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hbt Merger 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hbt Merger has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hbt Merger to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) case study. Hbt Merger can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hbt Merger 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, The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version), 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 Hbt Merger 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hbt Merger 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 Hbt Merger to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hbt Merger 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.
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. Hbt Merger 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. Hbt Merger 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hbt Merger 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hbt Merger can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hbt Merger to increase its market reach. Hbt Merger 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.
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 Hbt Merger in the consumer business. Now Hbt Merger can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) are -
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 Hbt Merger in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version), Hbt Merger 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hbt Merger with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hbt Merger 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hbt Merger has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hbt Merger 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. Hbt Merger 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
– Hbt Merger 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. Hbt Merger can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hbt Merger 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.
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 Hbt Merger business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Hbt Merger 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 Hbt Merger
– 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 Hbt Merger.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hbt Merger is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Hbt Merger.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 The HBT Merger (U.S. Roles version) 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 Hbt Merger needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.