BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U
The case tells the story of the transformation of the corporate learning function at Nike Inc. and the creation and branding of the Nike U. It provides an account of the transformation plan that was developed by the newly appointed CLO Andrew Kilshaw and tracks the implementation process with its challenges and successes. It also outlines the key components of a learning brand of a multinational corporation. Learning objectives: Identify the key priorities of a new CLO. Outline the key components of a corporate learning brand. Identify ways in which learning creates value for an organization.
Swot Analysis of "BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U" written by Shlomo Ben-Hur, Robert Crawford includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Learning Nike facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Learning Nike, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Learning Nike 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Learning Nike
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 Learning Nike
Strengths BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Learning Nike in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Learning Nike in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Learning Nike 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Learning Nike is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Learning Nike in the sector have low bargaining power. BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Learning Nike to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Learning Nike
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Learning Nike does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Learning Nike is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Learning Nike 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Learning Nike has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Learning Nike 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Learning Nike 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 Learning Nike in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Learning Nike 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 Shlomo Ben-Hur, Robert Crawford 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Learning Nike is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Learning Nike needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Learning Nike to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Learning Nike is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Learning Nike is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U, in the dynamic environment Learning Nike has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Learning Nike has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U, it seems that the employees of Learning Nike 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Learning Nike 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. Learning Nike 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, Learning Nike 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.
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 Learning Nike supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Learning Nike vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U, is just above the industry average. Learning Nike 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Learning Nike 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 - BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Learning Nike 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.
Opportunities BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U | 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Learning Nike 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Learning Nike 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Learning Nike 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Learning Nike to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Learning Nike 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 Learning Nike to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Learning Nike in the consumer business. Now Learning Nike can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Learning Nike 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Learning Nike 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Learning Nike has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Learning Nike to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U case study. Learning Nike can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Learning Nike can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Learning Nike can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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.
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. Learning Nike can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Learning Nike 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Learning Nike to increase its market reach. Learning Nike will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U are -
Regulatory challenges
– Learning Nike 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.
Increasing wage structure of Learning Nike
– 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 Learning Nike.
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. Learning Nike 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 Learning Nike in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Learning Nike 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Learning Nike 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Learning Nike is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Learning Nike 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. Learning Nike can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Learning Nike 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.
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.
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 Learning Nike.
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. Learning Nike needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 BUILDING THE CORPORATE LEARNING BRAND: THE STORY OF NIKE U 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 Learning Nike needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
