Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs
In April 1961, President Kennedy denied US military assistance to a force of CIA-trained Cuban exiles attacking Cuba, thus sealing the fate of the Bay of Pigs invasion. When the losses had been tallied, 114 exiles were dead, Castro was left with 1,200 prisoners, and the Kennedy administration was publicly embarrassed. The case recounts the formulation and failed execution of this CIA plan to invade Cuba. The authors trace the origins of the plan under the Eisenhower administration and follow Kennedy through his first three months in office, during which time he first heard of, then revised, and ultimately approved a trimmed-down version of the plan. This case was initially designed to illustrate the importance of decision-makers' identifying and testing their own and their advisers' presumptions. Extending this theme, the case may be used in conjunction with The CIA to 1961 (C14-80-280.0) as an exercise in "organizational placement." Had Kennedy used this method to better understand the institution of the CIA, he might have questioned them more closely and avoided some of the tragedy of the Bay of Pigs. For further discussion of the placement method, see The CIA to 1961 abstract. This case may also be used to demonstrate the hazards of transition in the American presidency. HKS Case Number 279.0.
Authors :: Stephen Bates, Richard Neustadt, Joshua Rosenbloom, Ernest May
Swot Analysis of "Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs" written by Stephen Bates, Richard Neustadt, Joshua Rosenbloom, Ernest May includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cia Kennedy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Decision making, Knowledge management, Leadership, Marketing, Strategic planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cia Kennedy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cia Kennedy 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cia Kennedy
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 Cia Kennedy
Strengths Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cia Kennedy in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Cia Kennedy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cia Kennedy digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cia Kennedy has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cia Kennedy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cia Kennedy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Cia Kennedy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cia Kennedy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cia Kennedy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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
– Cia Kennedy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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.
High brand equity
– Cia Kennedy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cia Kennedy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Cia Kennedy 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 Stephen Bates, Richard Neustadt, Joshua Rosenbloom, Ernest May 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cia Kennedy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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
– Cia Kennedy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cia Kennedy 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.
Learning organization
- Cia Kennedy 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 Cia Kennedy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, is just above the industry average. Cia Kennedy 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs HBR case study mentions - Cia Kennedy 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 Cia Kennedy 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 - Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cia Kennedy is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cia Kennedy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Cia Kennedy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cia Kennedy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, in the dynamic environment Cia Kennedy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cia Kennedy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cia Kennedy 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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Cia Kennedy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cia Kennedy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Cia Kennedy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cia Kennedy, firm in the HBR case study Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cia Kennedy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cia Kennedy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs | 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cia Kennedy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cia Kennedy 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
– Cia Kennedy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cia Kennedy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cia Kennedy 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cia Kennedy 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 Cia Kennedy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cia Kennedy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cia Kennedy 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.
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. Cia Kennedy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Cia Kennedy 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cia Kennedy 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.
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. Cia Kennedy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cia Kennedy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cia Kennedy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs case study. Cia Kennedy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs are -
Increasing wage structure of Cia Kennedy
– 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 Cia Kennedy.
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 Cia Kennedy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cia Kennedy 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cia Kennedy 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, Cia Kennedy 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cia Kennedy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cia Kennedy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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. Cia Kennedy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cia Kennedy 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cia Kennedy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Cia Kennedy 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cia Kennedy 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. Cia Kennedy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs 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 Cia Kennedy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.