FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version
FUTUR is a small nonprofit organization founded in Barcelona in 1996. Its aim is to create social and labor opportunities for potentially excluded individuals such as ex-convicts, single mothers with no income, battered women, the homeless, people over 45 years old affected by long-term unemployment, drug and alcohol addicts, and immigrants mostly from Latin America and Northern Africa with problems adapting to life in Barcelona. The type of jobs FUTUR has provided these individuals has changed over time. The organization started operating in the textile sector and later shifted its focus entirely to food services. It has also been committed to fair-trade and environmentally-friendly products. FUTUR opened several restaurants and later expanded into catering services and, more recently, to school cafeterias, the latter becoming a very successful venture. They were also ready to launch a new business to supplement these initiatives. It was based on selling organic, fair-trade products on the streets with salespeople riding specially adapted bicycles. However, the organization needed to find new facilities equipped with an industrial kitchen as it had to move from the building it was currently renting for a nominal price. With so many initiatives underway, Manuel Almirall pondered the pros and cons of diversification for an organization like FUTUR and whether it should concentrate on a single venture. Specifically, he wondered what strategy would be more effective to fulfill the organization's mission while maintaining sustainable growth and moving its central kitchen for its restaurants and catering services.
Swot Analysis of "FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version" written by Daniel Arenas, Alfred Vernis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Futur Barcelona facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing,
geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Futur Barcelona, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Futur Barcelona 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Futur Barcelona
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Futur Barcelona
Strengths FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Futur Barcelona in FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Futur Barcelona 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 Daniel Arenas, Alfred Vernis 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Futur Barcelona has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Futur Barcelona 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Futur Barcelona is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Futur Barcelona in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Futur Barcelona 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Futur Barcelona 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version - 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 recruit top talent
– Futur Barcelona is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Futur Barcelona is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Futur Barcelona is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Futur Barcelona digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Futur Barcelona 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.
High brand equity
– Futur Barcelona has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Futur Barcelona to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Futur Barcelona in the sector have low bargaining power. FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Futur Barcelona to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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.
Weaknesses FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Futur Barcelona is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Futur Barcelona needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Futur Barcelona to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Futur Barcelona 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Futur Barcelona is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Futur Barcelona supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Futur Barcelona vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 Futur Barcelona 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Futur Barcelona takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 Futur Barcelona has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Futur Barcelona 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Daniel Arenas, Alfred Vernis suggests that, Futur Barcelona 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Futur Barcelona 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. Futur Barcelona 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Futur Barcelona is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version | 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Futur Barcelona can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Futur Barcelona has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Futur Barcelona to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version case study. Futur Barcelona can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Futur Barcelona 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Futur Barcelona 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Futur Barcelona to increase its market reach. Futur Barcelona 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Futur Barcelona to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Futur Barcelona 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 Futur Barcelona to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Futur Barcelona 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. Futur Barcelona 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Futur Barcelona is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Futur Barcelona can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Futur Barcelona can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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. Futur Barcelona can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Futur Barcelona can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Futur Barcelona 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version, Futur Barcelona may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Futur Barcelona business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Futur Barcelona 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Futur Barcelona with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Futur Barcelona has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Futur Barcelona needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Futur Barcelona is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Futur Barcelona 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Futur Barcelona 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Futur Barcelona 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.
Increasing wage structure of Futur Barcelona
– 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 Futur Barcelona.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 FUTUR-Working towards Social Inclusion, Spanish Version 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 Futur Barcelona needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.