Please follow the rubric it really matters when we get the good scores.I have attached all the files related to the case i.e. Case, its requirements, rubric and lecture ppt.
Requirements Read the Case Study and undertake a SWOT Analysis for Seek. Use the Case to identify strengths and weaknesses but further research may be required for opportunities and threats. Address the following requirements: 1. a) What are Seek’s strengths? Justify your answer with evidence from the case. b) Do these strengths represent strategic capabilities? Why? 2. What are Seek’s weaknesses? Justify your answer with evidence from the case. 3. Identify key opportunities and threats facing the online employment industry. 4. Identify Seek’s key objectives. 5. Based on your analysis comment on whether Seek’s objectives are achievable? Provide reasons. Identify any gap they need to address. Note: • Present your full analysis in a report format in no more than 4 pages (excluding front page. There is no need for an Executive Summary or an introduction). • Align your report structure with the requirements above. • You have limited space for which to address the requirements. Do not waste this by excessive restatement of facts from the case. • Utilise subject readings on internal analysis and external analysis to perform your analysis. See weeks 3 and 4 lecture material and readings. • Ensure that your conclusions are supported by your analysis and flow from your analysis. someTitle CASE 5 SEEK: being the best in the world in online employment1 It was 2017, and it had been an interesting year for SEEK. SEEK had decided to take its New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed Chinese employment recruiter Zhaopin (SEEK owned 61%) private and maintain its shareholding, while welcoming the new venture capital minority shareholders. CEO Andrew Bassat said:2 We are very excited to be partnering with leading Chinese private equity investors Hillhouse and FountainVest who each have strong track records of success in China. We believe that the combination of the strong management team led by Evan Guo, Hillhouse, FountainVest and SEEK will position Zhaopin for long term success. It had also decided to reposition its SEEK Learning business due to regulatory funding model changes to the Vocational, Education and Training sector and Technical Education marketing unit in Australia. It had also launched a new Education brand in Mexico and Australia and was starting up a broader career advisory operation within SEEK Learning. SEEK was a confident organisation, based almost exclusively on online technology. It had extremely high ambitions: it wanted to be the best in the world. It was growing sales, profits and market value at extraordinary rates. Were these events ‘normal’ for SEEK, or did any of them signal changes in its long-term fortunes? Copyright © Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) 2019— 9781488617348 — Hubbard/Strategic Management 6e Hubbard, G, Rice, J, & Galvin, P 2018, Strategic Management EBook, Pearson Education Australia, Melbourne. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [26 August 2020]. Created from swin on 2020-08-26 02:23:51. C op yr ig ht © 2 01 8. P ea rs on E du ca tio n A us tr al ia . A ll rig ht s re se rv ed . SEEK: the idea In 1997, Paul Bassat, 30, a lawyer at a major law firm, was frustrated by the inefficient search process for finding a new house to buy. Speaking with his brother, Andrew, a management consultant who had also been a lawyer, they decided that the job-search market was even more inefficient than the house-search market, so they decided to develop an online job search company. They were joined by their friend Matt Rockman, who had worked in sales and marketing in his father’s well-known women’s fashion retailer, Rockmans. In November 1997, SEEK was founded with Paul as CEO, Andrew as Head of Strategy and Business Development, Matt as Manager Sales and Marketing and Matt’s father Irvin as non- executive chair of the board. In March 1998 its website was launched. The essence of the idea was to build an online marketplace which was equally attractive to both advertisers and job candidates and to get scale. The founders reasoned that an advertiser wanted the maximum number of candidates to see their advertisement—and quickly—and candidates wanted the maximum number of jobs to be available easily. In designing a platform attractive to both sides of the recruitment process, SEEK tried to reduce ‘friction’ on each side that might reduce the chance of an advertisement being placed or a candidate completing a job application. Within six months, SEEK announced early success and warned establishment players that the internet was about to disrupt their model. SEEK claimed to have 70 000 job-seekers accessing their site each month, 10 000 of whom were registered with SEEK. On the other side of the recruitment equation, SEEK claimed 200 firms were advertising over 4000 jobs nationally on the site. Paul described the situation: SEEK and other Internet employment advertisers represent the long-expected threat to newspapers’ dominance of this market. We find it amazing that John Fairfax’s [publishers of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald] new chief executive, Professor Fred Hilmer, is reported to be sceptical about the future of the Internet … Recruitment firms are now actively embracing online advertising as it provides a cost-effective, interactive medium in meeting and sorting out job seekers, who display their credentials by writing legibly and using the latest technology.3 He also said: Speed, low cost and reach are the most common factors cited by recruiters when considering online advertising. Advertisers on the SEEK site for example have reported receiving applications as quickly as 15 minutes after the position appeared.4 The early days SEEK grew rapidly. Matt was responsible for getting recruiters to sign up and use the platform. Rockman’s father, Irvin Rockman, was an initial investor. The company also received funds from well-known Melbourne business families, the Libermans and Besens, Yahoo! and several venture capital funds. In 1999, it entered the New Zealand market. In 2003, James Packer bought 25 per cent of SEEK, which valued the company at $132 million. In 2004, it acquired the number 2 player in New Zealand, nzjobs.co.nz. In 2005, SEEK floated on the ASX with a market capitalisation of $587 million. Matt exited the firm at this point. In 2005 the company acquired SelfCert, which was renamed SEEK Learning, enabling SEEK to enter the education market by providing online educational courses in 482 C A S E S Copyright © Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) 2019— 9781488617348 — Hubbard/Strategic Management 6e Hubbard, G, Rice, J, & Galvin, P 2018, Strategic Management EBook, Pearson Education Australia, Melbourne. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [26 August 2020]. Created from swin on 2020-08-26 02:23:51. C op yr ig ht © 2 01 8. P ea rs on E du ca tio n A us tr al ia . A ll rig ht s re se rv ed . 483C A S E 5 SEEK: being the best in the world in online employment conjunction with an accredited educational supplier, which it saw as intimately connected with improving the quality of a candidate’s profile. In 2006, Andrew was appointed joint CEO with Paul. Over time, the company moved from being sales and marketing oriented—to get the volume needed on both sides to be market leader—to being technology driven, developing additional products to enhance the value of the platform for both recruiters and candidates. Once significant volume was achieved, big data analytics could be used to exploit patterns in the data, again for the benefit of both sides. SEEK wanted to grow into other countries. It had particular criteria for choosing countries. There needed to be underlying market potential, a low internet penetration, an emerging middle class and a desire to use the internet. SEEK then looked for the leading player in the market which it could work with. Generally, it would take a part-ownership of the firm, with the aim of gradually increasing its stake over time, if potential was realised. SEEK did not seek to replace the existing platforms which existed in each company it invested in, believing that each country had some unique characteristics, which meant a one-size-fits-all global platform would not be appropriate. However, it encouraged collaboration and sought to leverage skills, capabilities, products and services across countries for mutual benefit. In 2011, Paul resigned as co-CEO and became the co-founder of Square Peg Capital, an Australian venture capital firm, where Matt also became involved. SEEK in 2017 By 2017, the SEEK Group had around 20 brands, sales of around A$1 billion, profits of around A$400 million and over 6000 employees. It had clear statements of its Purpose, Vision, Beliefs and Attitudes to guide the company (see Figure 1). SEEK worked on creating value for its customers on both sides of the equation, rather than thinking first about how to monetise the information. It felt that, if the product or service was valuable, ways to monetise it would come later. It had developed a diverse group of companies and brands across 16 countries: Australia, New Zealand, China, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. The product portfolio was narrow, restricting itself to recruitment/employment (both hirers and candidates), education (both providers and students) and a volunteer business. The products SEEK’s role for hirers was to extract from them succinct information covering the essentials of the position being advertised, in as standardised manner and format as possible, so SEEK could help candidates decide whether or not the job was attractive to them. This included not just the title, remuneration, location and specific tasks/roles, but also information on management, career opportunities, values and more. Using its ‘no friction’ principle, SEEK tried hard not to put barriers up for hirers, using its internal data analytics to meld the hirer’s words into internal algorithms that produced the best results for the hirer. SEEK’s role for candidates was to seek specifics about the candidate’s work, other history and specific criteria they were seeking, again in as standardised format as possible, so it could be compared with other candidates and selections made either by SEEK or by the hirer. However, it Copyright © Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty