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- QUESTION
apply several strategy tools to something most students find very relevant—the job search/promotion process. Where you want to be in 5-8 years? That may be a more relevant time frame for you to consider. My goal in how I teach this class is to have you apply this knowledge to your own careers over the next 5-8 years; I hope you’ll find that relevant!
This is about a 5 page assignment, although with tools and such the actual writing is actually closer to two pages. One good page of analysis and writing should suffice for each assignment (place each on a separate page, and include a cover sheet page). I encourage you to perform all of them, to benefit yourself. For your grade you are only required to do three of the six individual exercises, plus a concluding reflection (doing the extra won’t improve your grade).Begin with a title page, your name, and a table of contents.
SWOT/TOWS Exercise
If you are a product, then what is it that you are selling to the upcoming job market? How well are you positioned for finding a position? It’s not a bad idea to put an identity to that (e.g. in my case, in 2001 I was seeking a tenure track strategic management & entrepreneurship professor position). As you seek that position, how strong do you appear to employers? A good starting position is to conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself, and see what picture emerges. Once you complete the other assignments, go back and see how this changes (it should). So for this assignment
- Identify an industry, firm, and a job title you seek to attain.
- Draw out a SWOT analysis, where you are the subject, and identify a minimum of four points to each element. Highlight those that are easily observable to a prospective employer (every resume lists “good communication skills”, so employers disregard that—can you provide observable evidence of that skill?).
- Many firms are emphasizing “strengths finder”: what observable strengths can you demonstrate to an employer?
- Draw a second slide that lists the 4 types of TOWS combo-strategies (S-O, S-T, W-O, W-T), and identify specific tasks you should complete, that apply to each of the four combo-types, over the next 3-5 years.
- As an example, an accountant might find getting auditing certification might help overcome a weakness in auditing experience.
- Assess the difficulty in applying these strategies.
- After you complete the other two assignments, submit a revised SWOT, and write a short paragraph explaining what changed, and why.
Assignment 4. RBV: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Whereas chapter two of your textbook relies on the environment to assess firm performance, chapter 3 relies more heavily on the internal characteristics of the firm for firm performance. The two views are not in conflict, and actually complement each other (mostly differing in their respective units of analysis). Chapter three suggests that factors that make for a favorable environment can be traced down to the firm level (e.g. resource mobility barriers). In a rapidly growing environment, promotions and pay raises should be plentiful, yet some employees will advance more quickly than others. This may be due to resources they possess that others do not. It may be due to being able to protect those resources from imitation or competition, it may result from being able to apply them more effectively than do others. This assignment seeks to address those insights and apply to yourself.
- Identify an industry, firm, and a job title you seek to attain.
- What do you think are the necessary skills to advance that everyone must have? These are the “necessary but insufficient conditions for success”. I’d encourage you think beyond the typical cliché responses (hard work, good communication skills, etc.). A college degree may or may not be one of these, depending on your major.
- What are the skills that create a separating equilibrium, e.g., that it separates workers into “haves” and “have nots”? I’d encourage you think beyond the typical cliché responses (hard work, good communication skills, etc.). As an example, what separates successful realtors from less successful ones? It can’t all be hard work.
- Next, what do you think are the verifiable, documentable, necessary skills to advance relative to your peers? That is, what additional skills must you be able to possess in order to set yourself apart from other employees? I'm not talking about hard work--I'm talking about certifications, training, skills, all that can be documented.
- How intangible are they (e.g. can others claim to have those same skills, even if they don’t)? Note: few of your peers will claim to have poor communications skills. Are there ways to document possession of these skills such that others do not?
- Doing a self assessment based on your time at UD, how well do you personally rate on those skills? What (if any) unique, valuable, and hard to imitate/substitute skills do you possess? Can you document their existence? If so, have you done so, and if not, why not?
- Do a VRIO table of the skills you think give you a competitive advantage (if any), and ask why/(why not), they are valuable, rare, hard to imitate, and hard to substitute and why they can provide an organizational fit.
- Are there additional certifications and trainings that distinguish people in your discipline, in the industry you have chosen (i.e. an MIS major might want to acquire an additional certification from Microsoft or Cisco). What types of competitive advantages might these provide? Going back to VRIO, what makes them provide a competitive advantage?
- When/if do you plan to acquire them, and why?
Which generic strategy guides your job search?
One way to develop strategic coherence is to overlay your intended career strategy against a generic strategy. Doing so provides you good insights on how best to avoid being “stuck in the middle”. It also forces you to make the trade-offs essential in crafting a superior strategy.
In your initial job search, it can be very daunting, as you’re competing against so many different individuals. How best to compete? I believe it is possible to construct a generic strategy to guide your job search. It will force you to avoid “time-wasters”, and to focus your attention to the best potential opportunities. Going back to your mission statement in assignment one, and going back to your strengths and weaknesses in assignments 2 and 5, where do the best opportunities for you lie? What are they and why?
- Identify an industry, firm, and a job title you seek to attain.
- Please assess the generic strategy they appear to employ. Is this more a niche? Can one successfully position themselves as a differentiated candidate where firms are willing to pay higher salaries, or is it more low-cost (where you have much less power in negotiating a salary). You’ll need to provide some evidence as to why you think they employ that generic strategy.
- Identify which generic strategy best describes your current job search position. Provide information that supports why you think this is so. Critique its effectiveness. Should you do something different?
- For newhires, what expectations for possession of skills will an employer have for each of the generic strategies? Stated differently, is an employer willing to pay more for specialized knowledge or experience, or are they looking for “lumps of clay” that they can mold?
- How much training will you need in the beginning? Are you seeking to be trained by a firm, conduct your own development, or some combination Your first job or so should provide some development—is it formal or informal development? Is that development strictly on the job, company specific training, a combination?
- Once you are hired, how long is the “honeymoon”? How long before you are expected to make a valuable contribution?
- How are pay scales in the industry—some pay you very little at first, but provide rapid pay raises if you stay. Others start higher, but with more gradual advancement. How great is the pay scale spread across various firms in the industry?
- How are most of your peers seeking to enter this industry? What generic strategy do they appear to use? How do you compare to them?
- As you answer these questions, you should have a better sense of whether or not you should pursue a broad or narrow market strategy, and whether or not that should be pursued as either low cost-vs. differentiated.
Concluding Reflection
Overall the most important question is simple; What did you learn? However, that is too open-ended, so I’ll try to make it more specific. To begin with, I’d like you to detail your initial reactions to doing the assignment, and compare them to where you are upon completing it. Some of you no doubt will feel only relief that it is over, some might feel this was of limited help in the job search, perhaps others will view it as a rewarding experience.
Going on, what did you learn about yourself? Were you able to better clarify your job search strategy, or to identify tactics you can employ that should prove useful. What was the biggest surprise in doing the assignment? Do you look at your career differently now? Why/why not?
Compare and contrast what your job hunt strategy before and after doing this assignment. What are the major differences you observe?
More specifically,
- What was your career plan (over the next 5-8 years) prior to this course? What is it now, and how has it changed as a result of taking this course? How much of this do you think is a function of the down economy (I launched this assignment back in 2003, during a recession).
- How well positioned for the next 5-8 years do you think you are now? How much development will you need to engage in over the next five years to ensure you reach your career goals? Are there skills you wish you had learned prior to now that you plan to seek?
- Which tools provided the most insight for you, and which were more a reinforcement of what you already believed (please don’t say “all of them, or none of them”.
- What was the biggest surprise for you about the tools? What was the biggest surprise you learned about yourself?
- Is there a tool you wish you had learned earlier in your college studies? Is there a tool that we haven’t discussed yet, but should?
- Other thoughts
Grading expectations
As someone with multiple learning challenges, I can be frustrated by my typos. They still slip through. But don’t expect employers to excuse them. Write this as if an employer were reading it—put forth your best effort. Overall, here is a basic rubric of how I grade these.
- Evidence of following directions, completeness. (these should be gimme points, but sadly, often are not).
- Evidence of proofreading
- Thoroughness in description, without writing overly long. I’ve chosen short lengths to force you to use your space wisely. The page lengths are not absolute limits, but if you exceed them the writing ought to be captivating. We often talk of a “length to contribution” ratio. Your future execute eyes will glaze over if you write too long, or use too many buzzwords.
- Quality of writing: Don’t use bullet points unless they are called out (section 2d). Write in a business professional, paragraph style.
- Demonstrated comprehension of the material. Here is where I assess if your analysis seems accurate. I’ll look for insights, and accurate coherence. Where you can easily lose points is if your analysis doesn’t appear to fit what you claim.
| Subject | Business | Pages | 9 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Me, Inc.
Students should ensure that they have a clear vision of where they want to be and the steps that they can take to reach their goals. Additionally, they should identify the various strengths and unique features that can differentiate them in the marketplace. To be more attractive job candidates, prospective employees should demonstrate ways that they can add value to the organization and thus, increase their chances of being selected for a job position. As such, just like products, potential employees should conduct an internal environmental analysis of themselves to identify their strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities that they have. In this paper, I will analyze my strengths that I can demonstrate to an employer via a SWOT/TOWS Exercise. Additionally, I will analyze my strengths and weaknesses and the generic strategy that would guide my job search. Finally, I will provide a reflection about the lessons that I have gained form this exercise.
Assignment 2: SWOT/TOWS Exercise
I am seeking to become an accounting manager in the healthcare sector. Table 1 below is a SWOT analysis providing my strengths weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relation to the job position.
Table 1
Personal SWOT analysis. Source: Own creation.
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
· Effective communication skills. · Effective leadership skills. · Different certifications. · Strong interpersonal skills. · Expertise in value-based selling. |
· Lack of effective teamwork skills. · Easily distracted. · Lack of public speaking skills. · Lack of emotional intelligence. · Lack of some certifications. |
|
Opportunities |
Threats |
|
· Acquire additional certifications. · Acquire a masters degree in my field. · Learn how to use new technologies · Learn accounting aspects in healthcare. · Acquire teamwork skills. |
· Possession of unique and better skills by peers · Incompatibility of my skills with healthcare demands. · Complex technologies in healthcare. · Lack of future growth opportunities · Competition in the industry |
Based on the SWOT analysis above, some of the observable skills that I would demonstrate to an employer is the possession of various accounting certifications needed for the effective performance of my duties. Additionally, I would demonstrate expertise in value-based selling which will ensure reduced costs for the organization coupled with high quality services. Table 2 below provides the specific tasks that I will complete for each of the four types of TOWS combo-strategies.
Table 2
TOWS combo-strategies. Source: Own creation.
|
S-O |
S-T |
|
· Acquire more certifications through online learning. · Enroll for master’s degree. · Use effective communication to work with teams. |
· Increase my unique skills through continuing learning · Acquire new skills to explore new growth opportunities. · Acquire additional skills to increase my competitiveness. |
|
W-O |
W-T |
|
· Work with teams to acquire teamwork skills. · Enroll for different certifications. · Learn to use new technologies in healthcare. |
· Read how to apply my accounting skills in healthcare. · Prepare well for the use of new technologies in healthcare. · Acquire the unique skills possesses by competitors. |
The application of these strategies will be faced with various difficulties, such as lack of resources and time implications. For instance, the acquisition of new certifications and a master’s degree will require financial resources which will be difficult to assemble within a short time. Additionally, acquiring these certifications and building new skills will need time and patience which I might not possess. Moreover, I will have to juggle with work and class, which will be challenging.
Assignment 4: RBV- My Strengths and Weaknesses
The job title that I seek to attain is a healthcare accounting manager in a hospital. I think that the necessary skills to advance that everyone must have include interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, flexibility, and multitasking skills. Notably, an accounting manager will need to not only communicate clearly and effectively, but also listen and collaborate with people inside and outside the organization on accounting reports, policies and principles. Additionally, the accounting manager may encounter unexpected challenges and thus, should find quick and timely solutions to prevent them derailing the reduction of costs. Moreover, the manger will juggle several tasks and thus, multitasking skills will come in handy. However, the skills that create a separating equilibrium are leadership skills and a high level of confidence. Specifically, accounting managers need to enforce proper accounting methods and motivate others towards the attainment of such goals. Such skills are thus, realtors in the project management job.
In order to set myself from other employees for the accounting management job, the additional verifiable, documentable and necessary skills to advance include a master’s degree in business administration, and accounting management skills documented in certifications such as MEDDIC, Challenger Sales, Spin Selling, and Sandler Training. Although others can claim to have these skills, they do not have the necessary certifications that demonstrate the possession of such skills. Doing a self-assessment of based on my time at UD, I rate myself highly (8/10) on those skills. The unique skills that are hard to imitate include effective value-based selling. I can document the existence of such a skill through the Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, and Champion (MEDDIC) certification. Table 3 below provides the skills that I think gives me a competitive advantage.
Table 3
VRIO table of skills that give me competitive advantage. Source: Own creation.
|
Capability |
Is Value |
Is Rare |
Difficult to Imitate |
Organization |
|
Effective Communication |
No |
|
|
|
|
Leadership |
Yes |
No |
|
|
|
Interpersonal Skills |
Yes |
yes |
No |
|
|
Value-Based Selling |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Certification |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
In the healthcare industry chosen, the additional certifications and training that distinguish people in my accounting discipline are Certificate in Healthcare Financial Profession and CPA. These certifications ensure that the accountants in healthcare have unique accounting skills related to healthcare. Additionally, they are difficult to imitate and are rare to find because not all accountants have such certifications. I plan to acquire these skills by undertaking online courses on the same.
Assignment 6: Generic Strategy That Guides My Job Search
In the healthcare industry, I plan to attain the job title of an accounting manager. The generic strategy that the industry deploys is a differentiation strategy. Specifically, firms in the industry are willing to pay more for candidates who have special and unique skills. The adoption of this strategy is evidenced by the different healthcare organizations that want to hire accountants who possess some special skills and give them high salaries. The generic strategy that best describes my current job search position is a differentiated one. I think this is the strategy because there are so many accountants out there looking/searching for the position but getting it requires a demonstration of differentiated skills. Although this strategy is effective in ensuring that the best candidates fill the position, it attracts only a small number of applicants. I should not do anything different but rather continue to use the strategy.
For new hires, an employer will expect that they have differentiated skills and competencies compared to those of their competitors. The employer is willing to pay more to employee who possess specialized knowledge and experience. In the beginning, I will need an informal training to induce me to the company and the job position. The training will strictly be on the job in terms of my responsibilities and how to execute them. The honeymoon will end after three months because after the three months, I will be expected to make a valuable contribution. The pay scales in the healthcare industry for accounting managers is that the organizations pay little at first and rapidly raise the salaries based on performance. The pay scale is very high across the firms in the industry. My peers are seeking to enter into the industry using a low-cost strategy whereby they promise to deliver a high-quality work for a lower pay. However, I differ from them because I use a differentiated strategy. Based on these aspects, I should continue to use a differentiated strategy.
Revised SWOT
Table 4
Revised SWOT analysis. Source: Own creation
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
· Effective leadership skills. · Different certifications. · Strong interpersonal skills. · Expertise in value-based selling. |
· Lack of effective teamwork skills. · Lack of public speaking skills. · Lack of emotional intelligence. · Lack of some certifications. |
|
Opportunities |
Threats |
|
· Acquire additional certifications. · Acquire a master’s degree in my field. · Learn how to use new technologies · Learn accounting aspects in healthcare. |
· Possession of unique and better skills by peers · Incompatibility of my skills with healthcare demands. · Lack of future growth opportunities · Competition in the industry |
In this revised SWOT, the changes that have occurred is that I have realized that some of my strengths are not attractive to potential employers. As such, I have refined the SWOT analysis to make sure that I only have the skills that would matter to the employer. Additionally, undertaking Assignments 4 and 6 have changed the manner in which I evaluate myself hence the changes.
Concluding Reflection
This exercise has provided various lessons to me such as the importance of adopting an effective job search strategy. Prior to this course, my career plan over the next 5-8 years was to get a job with better pay and more demanding. However, over the course, I have learned that I need to use my strengths to ensure that my job hunt strategy is based on the generic strategy in the industry. The tools that have provided the most insight for me are the SWOT and TOWS analyses. My biggest surprise was that they can effectively be used on persons as opposed to organizations. I was surprised that I had numerous strengths that I was not aware of before this course. I wish I had learned earlier how to use TOWS because I would have tremendously reduced my weaknesses and threats. Nevertheless, the course has been vital in helping me to effectively hunt for a job.
References
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Appendix
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