Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics
This series of six cases (labeled A through F) presents the various dilemmas that arose in the spring of 2001 when engineers at the Seattle-based Boeing Company, unhappy with management decisions, contemplated and undertook a strike, the first "white-collar" work stoppage in the history of American business.
Authors :: Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Mary L Cummings
Swot Analysis of "Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics" written by Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Mary L Cummings includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nspe Nerds facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Labor and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nspe Nerds, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nspe Nerds 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nspe Nerds
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 Nspe Nerds
Strengths Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nspe Nerds in Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nspe Nerds in the sector have low bargaining power. Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nspe Nerds to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nspe Nerds 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nspe Nerds is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nspe Nerds has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nspe Nerds 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nspe Nerds 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nspe Nerds in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Nspe Nerds has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nspe Nerds 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.
Analytics focus
– Nspe Nerds 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 Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Mary L Cummings 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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
– Nspe Nerds 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 Nspe Nerds in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Nspe Nerds has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nspe Nerds to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics are -
Need for greater diversity
– Nspe Nerds 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Nspe Nerds has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nspe Nerds 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics, it seems that the employees of Nspe Nerds 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nspe Nerds 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nspe Nerds 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.
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 Nspe Nerds supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nspe Nerds vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nspe Nerds, firm in the HBR case study Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nspe Nerds 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 - Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nspe Nerds needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nspe Nerds 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. Nspe Nerds even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics | 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nspe Nerds 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nspe Nerds can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Nspe Nerds can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nspe Nerds has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nspe Nerds to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics case study. Nspe Nerds can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nspe Nerds 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Nspe Nerds can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nspe Nerds 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nspe Nerds 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 Nspe Nerds 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nspe Nerds 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Nspe Nerds 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nspe Nerds can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nspe Nerds operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nspe Nerds is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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.
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. Nspe Nerds can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nspe Nerds 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.
Threats Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nspe Nerds 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.
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. Nspe Nerds needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Nspe Nerds 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. Nspe Nerds can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Nspe Nerds business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Nspe Nerds 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics, Nspe Nerds may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing wage structure of Nspe Nerds
– 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 Nspe Nerds.
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. Nspe Nerds 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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nspe Nerds can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Nspe Nerds in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nspe Nerds with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nspe Nerds 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Boeing's: No Nerds, No Birds (F): The NSPE Code of Ethics 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 Nspe Nerds needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
