Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B)
The integration team had planned and implemented the changes. The two goals to maintain momentum and keep the core value of Golden West operations in place were accomplished. From the time the deal was announced, Wachovia and Golden West had been cross-selling each other's products. Much time was invested early on in getting all parties up to speed. But everything fell apart only months after the integration when in July of 2007 Wachovia took a huge hit in the mortgage-lending disaster.
Authors :: L.J. Bourgeois, Matt Jackson, Adam Schwarzschild, Dave Maher
Swot Analysis of "Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B)" written by L.J. Bourgeois, Matt Jackson, Adam Schwarzschild, Dave Maher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wachovia Golden facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Growth strategy, Mergers & acquisitions and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wachovia Golden, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wachovia Golden 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wachovia Golden
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wachovia Golden
Strengths Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wachovia Golden in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wachovia Golden to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wachovia Golden to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wachovia Golden 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Wachovia Golden is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wachovia Golden digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wachovia Golden 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.
Analytics focus
– Wachovia Golden 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 L.J. Bourgeois, Matt Jackson, Adam Schwarzschild, Dave Maher 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Wachovia Golden is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wachovia Golden in the sector have low bargaining power. Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wachovia Golden to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wachovia Golden 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Wachovia Golden 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 Wachovia Golden in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Wachovia Golden has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wachovia Golden has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wachovia Golden 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.
High brand equity
– Wachovia Golden has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wachovia Golden to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wachovia Golden 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 - Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B), in the dynamic environment Wachovia Golden has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wachovia Golden has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wachovia Golden, firm in the HBR case study Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wachovia Golden products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wachovia Golden needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, L.J. Bourgeois, Matt Jackson, Adam Schwarzschild, Dave Maher suggests that, Wachovia Golden is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Wachovia Golden has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Wachovia Golden 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wachovia Golden is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wachovia Golden 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wachovia Golden is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Wachovia Golden needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wachovia Golden to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Wachovia Golden 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.
Opportunities Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) | 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wachovia Golden can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wachovia Golden 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wachovia Golden can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wachovia Golden operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Wachovia Golden can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wachovia Golden can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wachovia Golden 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 Organizational Development segment.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wachovia Golden 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 Wachovia Golden to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Wachovia Golden has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wachovia Golden to increase its market reach. Wachovia Golden 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wachovia Golden 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wachovia Golden to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wachovia Golden 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wachovia Golden is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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. Wachovia Golden can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wachovia Golden 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wachovia Golden 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. Wachovia Golden needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Wachovia Golden 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. Wachovia Golden can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development 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 Wachovia Golden business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wachovia Golden high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Wachovia Golden.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wachovia Golden 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wachovia Golden in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Increasing wage structure of Wachovia Golden
– 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 Wachovia Golden.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B), Wachovia Golden may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Wachovia Golden can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Integration of Wachovia and Golden West (B) 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 Wachovia Golden needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
