Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J
In this three-party negotiation exercise, Jesse J, star center in the U.S.A. Women's Basketball League, with her agent, is negotiating a possible compensation package with the Boston Sharks involving a base salary, a possible share of team merchandising profits, and a performance incentive. Each player (Jesse J, her agent, the Sharks general manager) has a confidential brief as the basis for the negotiation.
Authors :: James K. Sebenius, Ian I. Larkin, Guhan Subramanian
Swot Analysis of "Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J" written by James K. Sebenius, Ian I. Larkin, Guhan Subramanian includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Jesse Sharks facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Compensation, Negotiations and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jesse Sharks, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jesse Sharks 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jesse Sharks
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jesse Sharks
Strengths Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jesse Sharks in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Jesse Sharks 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Jesse Sharks has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Jesse Sharks has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management
– Jesse Sharks is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Jesse Sharks is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Jesse Sharks is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Learning organization
- Jesse Sharks 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 Jesse Sharks is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Jesse Sharks in the sector have low bargaining power. Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jesse Sharks to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Jesse Sharks
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Jesse Sharks does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Jesse Sharks 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communication industry
– Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jesse Sharks to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communication industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jesse Sharks to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Jesse Sharks 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 James K. Sebenius, Ian I. Larkin, Guhan Subramanian 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.
Weaknesses Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J, it seems that the employees of Jesse Sharks 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Jesse Sharks 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Jesse Sharks has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Jesse Sharks is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J HBR case study mentions - Jesse Sharks 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James K. Sebenius, Ian I. Larkin, Guhan Subramanian suggests that, Jesse Sharks is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jesse Sharks 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. Jesse Sharks 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jesse Sharks 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Jesse Sharks is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Jesse Sharks needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Jesse Sharks to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Jesse Sharks 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J, is just above the industry average. Jesse Sharks 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J | 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Jesse Sharks can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Jesse Sharks in the consumer business. Now Jesse Sharks can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jesse Sharks 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Jesse Sharks can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jesse Sharks to increase its market reach. Jesse Sharks 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 Jesse Sharks has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Jesse Sharks to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J case study. Jesse Sharks can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Jesse Sharks can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communication 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Jesse Sharks 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jesse Sharks 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 Jesse Sharks 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 Communication segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jesse Sharks 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jesse Sharks can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jesse Sharks operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communication sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Jesse Sharks can develop new processes and procedures in Communication 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Jesse Sharks in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communication segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Jesse Sharks 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Jesse Sharks with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Jesse Sharks in the Communication industry. The Communication 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Jesse Sharks is facing in Communication sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J, Jesse Sharks may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communication .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communication field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Jesse Sharks can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Jesse Sharks business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Jesse Sharks 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.
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 Jesse Sharks in the Communication sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Jesse Sharks 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.
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.
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 Jesse Sharks.
Regulatory challenges
– Jesse Sharks 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 Communication industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J 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 Jesse Sharks needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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