Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B)
Whether taught to students unfamiliar with U.S. business culture or to students unacquainted with working in China, this case allows for an exploration of values that shape attitudes and behaviors in both countries. The material presents one executive's unique leadership experience in managing across cultures. From creating cross-cultural teams to balancing the goals of corporate in the United States and local operations in China, Owen Rankin's role as a leader in the middle is rich with experiences dealing with preconceived notions. The case works as a source for any manager working outside his or her home country. In the (A) case Owen Rankin, VP of corporate reputation at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), is appointed to head up J&J's Olympic Games committee. He was tasked with convincing others in the organization to move forward on the project. . Rankin and his team spent months going back and forth to China, meeting with J&J business-unit leaders, and trying to persuade them to support the project. The (A) case ends at Rankin and his core committee back in China at their final decision-making meeting-would it be a go or a no-go decision? The (B) case presents Rankin's experience to build a team, engage stakeholders, develop and activate programs, attend the games, and then wrap up the closing of the sponsorship. As Rankin and his team supervised the dismantling of the event, thoughts turned to the next Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, and London, England. Should J&J continue to be a sponsor?
Authors :: Paul J Simko, Marc W. Modica, Gerry Yemen
Swot Analysis of "Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B)" written by Paul J Simko, Marc W. Modica, Gerry Yemen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rankin Games facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, International business, Negotiations and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) casestudy better are - – 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%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rankin Games, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rankin Games
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 Rankin Games
Strengths Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rankin Games in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Rankin Games is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rankin Games has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rankin Games 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 Rankin Games 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rankin Games in the sector have low bargaining power. Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rankin Games to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Rankin Games has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Rankin Games 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 Rankin Games is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Rankin Games in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Rankin Games 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 Rankin Games in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Rankin Games
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rankin Games does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Rankin Games is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rankin Games 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. Rankin Games 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B), in the dynamic environment Rankin Games has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rankin Games has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rankin Games is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Rankin Games 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Rankin Games has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) HBR case study mentions - Rankin Games 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Rankin Games has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rankin Games is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Rankin Games 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Rankin Games has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Opportunities Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) | 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) are -
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 Rankin Games in the consumer business. Now Rankin Games can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rankin Games to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rankin Games 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rankin Games to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rankin Games can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rankin Games 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.
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. Rankin Games 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. Rankin Games 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Rankin Games 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Rankin Games can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rankin Games 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 Rankin Games to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rankin Games has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rankin Games to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) case study. Rankin Games can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rankin Games can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rankin Games operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rankin Games to increase its market reach. Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Rankin Games is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Rankin Games 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rankin Games 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.
Environmental challenges
– Rankin Games 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. Rankin Games can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
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. Rankin Games can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Rankin Games
– 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 Rankin Games.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rankin Games 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.
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.
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 Rankin Games in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Rankin Games.
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 Rankin Games business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rankin Games with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Owen Rankin at J&J and the Olympic Games: Let the Games Begin (B) 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 Rankin Games needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.