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The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B)


In mid-2008, David Miller, the CEO of the Madison Children's Foundation (MCF), is beginning to contemplate the future of the organization. As the founding CEO, Miller has been the face of MCF since its inception in 1993. The foundation has a strong track record of success and has established a reputation as a "change maker" and "partner" in the community, having made grants of more than $60 million to local organizations. Although its grant-making has increased, MCF's staff has not grown over time. The board has changed composition over the past six years, adding more community residents and "working" board members. The board succession plan is fairly well organized, with a nominating committee and a good understanding of skill sets needed and the expectations for board members. However, there is no CEO succession plan. Board members have been raising the question in a non-confrontational manner for the past two or three years, and now Miller believes the time has come to create a CEO succession strategy for MCF. The critical questions raised by this case include: What roles do/should CEOs and boards play in initiating and implementing a leadership succession process? How does the implementation of a leadership succession process affect the senior staff at an organization? How should external stakeholders be engaged in the leadership succession process?

Authors :: Liz Livingston Howard

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Succession planning, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B)" written by Liz Livingston Howard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Succession Mcf facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Succession Mcf, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Succession Mcf 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 Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Succession Mcf
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 Succession Mcf




Strengths The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Succession Mcf in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Learning organization

- Succession Mcf 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 Succession Mcf is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Succession Mcf 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 Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Succession Mcf in the sector have low bargaining power. The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Succession Mcf to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Succession Mcf 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 Succession Mcf in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Succession Mcf 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.

Training and development

– Succession Mcf has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Succession Mcf is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Succession Mcf 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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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.

Strong track record of project management

– Succession Mcf is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Analytics focus

– Succession Mcf 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 Liz Livingston Howard 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Succession Mcf 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.



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Net Promoter Score



Weaknesses The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) are -

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Succession Mcf 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B), is just above the industry average. Succession Mcf 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Succession Mcf products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Succession Mcf 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, Succession Mcf 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Succession Mcf 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) HBR case study mentions - Succession Mcf 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 Succession Mcf has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B), in the dynamic environment Succession Mcf has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Succession Mcf has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 Succession Mcf 's lucrative customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Succession Mcf is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Succession Mcf needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Succession Mcf to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Succession Mcf 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. Succession Mcf 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.




Opportunities The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) are -

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. Succession Mcf can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Succession Mcf 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Succession Mcf can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Manufacturing automation

– Succession Mcf 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Succession Mcf can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Succession Mcf is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Succession Mcf 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 Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Succession Mcf 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. Succession Mcf 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. Succession Mcf 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Succession Mcf has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Succession Mcf to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) case study. Succession Mcf can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Succession Mcf 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 Succession Mcf to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Succession Mcf in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Succession Mcf in the consumer business. Now Succession Mcf can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.




Threats The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (B) are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Succession Mcf with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Succession Mcf needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.

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 Succession Mcf.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Succession Mcf is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Succession Mcf in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

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. Succession Mcf needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Succession Mcf business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Succession Mcf 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.

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. Succession Mcf 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Succession Mcf 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.

Increasing wage structure of Succession Mcf

– 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 Succession Mcf.

Environmental challenges

– Succession Mcf 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. Succession Mcf 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 The Changing of the Guard: Planning for Succession at Madison Children's Foundation (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 Succession Mcf needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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