Assignment 7: Final Organizational Analysis

You are the head of analytics at an online retailer that is a competitor of Zappos, selling clothing, footwear and accessories for men, women and children. Your company is facing a difficult situation – the revenue from your major product offering is declining. On technical merits, your offering is at least as good, if not better than your competitors’. Your supply chain is able to keep pace with the demand for your offering, but there have been sporadic stock-outs at your major distributors. Your market research suggests that your advertising is less creative and compelling than your competitors’.  Furthermore, your major competitor contends that you have violated their patent, and is threatening a patent infringement suit. Your company is likely to go bankrupt if you lose the commercialization rights to its major offering.

1. You need to diagnose the situation. What are the major trends in the market? Is the market growing, stable or shrinking? What are the trends in your share of the market? You know that your company is losing revenue, but what are the trends in profitability? Are there issues with your supply chain that need to be addressed?

What internal and external data  would you need to diagnose the situation? What kinds of analyses would you run?  What key performance indicators (KPIs) would you report to your CEO?

2. You have heard the CMO assert that customers like your competitors’ offering better than your company’s. How would you test this assertion?

What data would you need to diagnose the situation? How would you access these data? What kinds of analyses would you run and what key performance indicators (KPIs) would you report to your CMO?

3. Your head of HR shows you the results of the latest engagement survey, which clearly shows that there is a risk of losing critical talent from the organization. HR is doing everything that they can to try to address colleague concerns, but that may not be enough.

How would you help the head of HR develop succession plans for the senior roles in the organization? What data would you need to diagnose the situation? Would you need any external data, and if so, what kinds of data? What kinds of analyses would you run and what key performance indicators (KPIs) would you report to the head of HR?

4. The General Counsel believes that the patent position is strong, but the CEO is concerned about the potential patent suit.  He wants the legal team to settle out of court so there is no risk of losing the commercial rights to the offering. 

How would you help the CEO and General Counsel understand whether to settle or litigate?  How would you help them decide a dollar amount for a settlement if they go that route? (20 pts)

5. You are being bombarded by issues and questions. You are only a team of one. You must diagnose the situation for the CEO.  You have the capacity to focus on only one area… i.e., marketing (customer preference), HR (succession planning for senior roles), or Legal (litigate or settle).  Where would you focus, and why?