Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In today's fast-paced business world, leaders know that their organization's success is tightly linked to its ability to change again and again. Yet many change initiatives fail. One reason, the authors say, is that leaders often underestimate the impact of the politics and emotions of change. The authors suggest a five-step process for leading a major change initiative: Step 1: Map the political landscape. Map the key external and internal, formal and informal stakeholders who will be affected by the change. Step 2: Identify the key influencers within each stakeholder group. Once the key stakeholder groups are mapped, leaders should identify the key influencers within each group. Key influencers are those individuals who might be able to marshal resources, enroll others, build legitimacy and momentum, and provide ideas crucial to driving the change. Step 3: Assess influencers'receptiveness to change. People have different levels of receptiveness to a given change. Both supporters and skeptics must be engaged. Step 4: Mobilize influential sponsors and promoters. Sponsors have access to financial and human resources. Promoters, on the other hand, can be extremely useful in igniting the enthusiasm that can draw fence-sitters into the process and propel change forward. Step 5: Engage influential positive and negative skeptics. Skeptics can either make a change process more effective or turn a minor hurdle into a major roadblock. Positive skeptics may offer important perspectives and insights about the vulnerabilities of proposed changes. Influential negative skeptics are also important to work with.
Swot Analysis of "Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change" written by Ellen R. Auster, Trish Ruebottom includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Skeptics Change facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Skeptics Change, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Skeptics Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Skeptics Change
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 Skeptics Change
Strengths Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Skeptics Change in Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Skeptics Change digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Skeptics Change 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.
Organizational Resilience of Skeptics Change
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Skeptics Change does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Skeptics Change in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Skeptics Change has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Skeptics Change to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Skeptics Change is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Skeptics Change to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Skeptics Change to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Skeptics Change has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Skeptics Change 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Skeptics Change 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.
Analytics focus
– Skeptics Change 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 Ellen R. Auster, Trish Ruebottom 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
– Skeptics Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Skeptics Change has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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.
Weaknesses Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Skeptics Change 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Skeptics Change products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Skeptics Change needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Skeptics Change has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change, in the dynamic environment Skeptics Change has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Skeptics Change has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Skeptics Change, firm in the HBR case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Skeptics Change 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Skeptics Change 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, Skeptics Change 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 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 Skeptics Change supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Skeptics Change vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Skeptics Change has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change, is just above the industry average. Skeptics Change 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.
Opportunities Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change | 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change are -
Buying journey improvements
– Skeptics Change can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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.
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. Skeptics Change can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Skeptics Change 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 Skeptics Change to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Skeptics Change to increase its market reach. Skeptics Change 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Skeptics Change has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Skeptics Change to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change case study. Skeptics Change can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Skeptics Change 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. Skeptics Change 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Skeptics Change 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Skeptics Change 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Skeptics Change is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Skeptics Change 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Skeptics Change 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, Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change, 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 Skeptics Change 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Skeptics Change can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Skeptics Change operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change are -
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Skeptics Change with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Skeptics Change has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Skeptics Change 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.
Environmental challenges
– Skeptics Change 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. Skeptics Change can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Skeptics Change business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Skeptics Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change .
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. Skeptics Change 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.
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. Skeptics Change can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change, Skeptics Change 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 .
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 Skeptics Change.
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. Skeptics Change needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Skeptics Change in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Navigating the Politics and Emotions of Change 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 Skeptics Change needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.