Minding the Analytics Gap SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Minding the Analytics Gap
In an increasingly data-driven business environment, many executives must make critical decisions based on analyses that use data and statistical methods that they do not fully understand. How can executives with limited analytics expertise become adept consumers of analytics under such conditions? This question has become an important management issue as senior executives increasingly recognize the importance of analytics to creating business value. The authors'research -based on a survey of 2,719 managers in organizations from around the world -found that the foremost barrier to creatingbusiness value from analytics is not data management or complex modeling skills. Instead, the number one barrier mentioned by survey respondents involved translating analytics into business actions -in other words, making business decisions based on the results, not producing the results themselves. With more access to useful data, companies are increasingly using sophisticated analytical methods. That, the authors argue, means there's often a gap between an organization's capacity to produce analytical results and its ability to apply them effectively to business issues. Much can be done to make analytics more consumable for managers. At the individual level, data analysts can learn more about the business; in fact, about a third (34%) of the survey respondents reported that their organizations train analytics professionals to understand business issues. Organizations can also systemically improve infrastructure and processes; improved data quality, for example,can make it easier to turn data into competitive advantage. Managers can also take steps to become savvier at understanding analytical results. In fact, managers and executives are working to become more knowledgeable about data and analytics: Many of the survey respondents reported that their organizations develop analytical skills through on-the-job (58%) or formal (23%) training. Almost half the respondents (49%) reported that their organizations train managers to make better use of analytics. Beyond training, other known steps include: identifying trustworthy analytics professionals within the organization, requiring straightforward explanations and asking detailed questions. However, the authors'research indicates that, despite their efforts, managers continue to find it difficult to keep pace with their organization's analysts for two reasons: burgeoning analytics sophistication and competing demands for managerial attention. What's more, when an organization's capacity to produce increasingly sophisticated analytics outpaces managers'abilities to understand, discomfort is created -managers find they must make decisions based on complex analytical insights that they do not yet fully understand. But, despite this discomfort, these managerial decisions must be made. The authors conclude by suggesting five ways that managers can increase their comfort in consuming analytics. This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article.
Authors :: Sam Ransbotham, David Kiron, Pamela Kirk Prentice
Swot Analysis of "Minding the Analytics Gap" written by Sam Ransbotham, David Kiron, Pamela Kirk Prentice includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Analytics Respondents facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Minding the Analytics Gap case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Minding the Analytics Gap casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Minding the Analytics Gap
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Minding the Analytics Gap case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Analytics Respondents, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Analytics Respondents 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 Minding the Analytics Gap can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Minding the Analytics Gap case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Analytics Respondents
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 Analytics Respondents
Strengths Minding the Analytics Gap | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Analytics Respondents in Minding the Analytics Gap Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Analytics Respondents
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Analytics Respondents does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Analytics Respondents has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Analytics Respondents 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
– Analytics Respondents 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 Analytics Respondents in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Analytics Respondents 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 Analytics Respondents is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Minding the Analytics Gap Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Analytics Respondents in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Minding the Analytics Gap Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High brand equity
– Analytics Respondents has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Analytics Respondents to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Analytics Respondents 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 Minding the Analytics Gap - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Analytics Respondents has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Minding the Analytics Gap 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Analytics Respondents 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 Minding the Analytics Gap HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Analytics Respondents is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Analytics Respondents is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Minding the Analytics Gap Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Minding the Analytics Gap | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Minding the Analytics Gap are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Analytics Respondents products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Analytics Respondents needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Analytics Respondents 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. Analytics Respondents 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Analytics Respondents 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Analytics Respondents is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Minding the Analytics Gap can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Analytics Respondents, firm in the HBR case study Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap, it seems that the employees of Analytics Respondents 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Analytics Respondents 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Analytics Respondents is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Analytics Respondents has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Analytics Respondents 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 Minding the Analytics Gap, in the dynamic environment Analytics Respondents has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Analytics Respondents has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Minding the Analytics Gap | 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 Minding the Analytics Gap are -
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 Analytics Respondents 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Analytics Respondents 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Analytics Respondents 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Analytics Respondents 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.
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. Analytics Respondents 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. Analytics Respondents 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Analytics Respondents 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, Analytics Respondents 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, Minding the Analytics Gap, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Analytics Respondents can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Minding the Analytics Gap 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Analytics Respondents 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 Minding the Analytics Gap - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Analytics Respondents to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Analytics Respondents can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Analytics Respondents 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.
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 Analytics Respondents in the consumer business. Now Analytics Respondents can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Analytics Respondents 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.
Threats Minding the Analytics Gap External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Minding the Analytics Gap are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Analytics Respondents 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.
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 Analytics Respondents.
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.
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 Analytics Respondents 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. Analytics Respondents 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 Analytics Respondents in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Analytics Respondents 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Analytics Respondents 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.
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. Analytics Respondents can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Analytics Respondents with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Analytics Respondents 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
– Analytics Respondents 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. Analytics Respondents can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Analytics Respondents
– 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 Analytics Respondents.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Minding the Analytics Gap 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 Analytics Respondents needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
