Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing
Richard Bennett was faced with a serious ethical dilemma that would impact his career, family, and co-workers. Bennett, a regional vice president in the Cable Division of Centurion Media, believed that a contract executed by the new president of his division, Joseph Fowler, would cause significant financial losses for Bennett's own division and the company. Bennett suspected that Fowler might have a serious conflict of interest, since he owned stock and options in Northpark-the company with which he had negotiated the contract. Bennett was only two years from retirement. If he chose to protest the contract, it would likely have very unpleasant consequences -- including jeopardizing his own financial security. He would probably be fired. Additionally, his actions might endanger the careers of other employees and co-workers. The personal relationship between the CEO of Centurion Media, Chuck Reilly, and Fowler made Bennett's decision more difficult. When Bennett contacted the general counsel and controller in the corporate office of Centurion Media, they suggested he back off. He was surprised by their stance that the contract, which Bennett thought would be financially disastrous, was in the best interest of the company. The Controller went so far as to remind Bennett how near he was to retirement, emphasizing that he should be concerned about protecting his job. What should Bennett do about the situation he faced?
Authors :: Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess, Jonathan Hiatt
Swot Analysis of "Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing" written by Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess, Jonathan Hiatt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bennett Centurion facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emotional intelligence, Ethics and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bennett Centurion, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bennett Centurion
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 Bennett Centurion
Strengths Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bennett Centurion in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Bennett Centurion
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bennett Centurion does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bennett Centurion in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bennett Centurion digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bennett Centurion 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
– Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bennett Centurion to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bennett Centurion to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bennett Centurion is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Bennett Centurion has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bennett Centurion in the sector have low bargaining power. Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bennett Centurion to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Bennett Centurion 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
– Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bennett Centurion is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bennett Centurion 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Bennett Centurion has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bennett Centurion, firm in the HBR case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bennett Centurion is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bennett Centurion is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing, it seems that the employees of Bennett Centurion 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing HBR case study mentions - Bennett Centurion 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 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 Bennett Centurion supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bennett Centurion vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bennett Centurion 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bennett Centurion 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Opportunities Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing | 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bennett Centurion 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bennett Centurion 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Bennett Centurion to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bennett Centurion 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bennett Centurion to increase its market reach. Bennett Centurion 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bennett Centurion 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bennett Centurion to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Bennett Centurion in the consumer business. Now Bennett Centurion can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bennett Centurion 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bennett Centurion has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bennett Centurion to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study. Bennett Centurion can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bennett Centurion 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, Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bennett Centurion can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing are -
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
– Bennett Centurion 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. Bennett Centurion can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Bennett Centurion 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
– Bennett Centurion 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 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. Bennett Centurion needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bennett Centurion has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bennett Centurion 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing .
Increasing wage structure of Bennett Centurion
– 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 Bennett Centurion.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Bennett Centurion business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bennett Centurion in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Bennett Centurion needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.