Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A)
The Swiss watch industry has been devastated by new entrants from Asia in the low- and mid-priced watch segments. Japanese and Hong Kong firms have used quartz technology to lower costs dramatically. Nicolas Hayek, president of a Swiss consulting firm, is asked to help design a new strategy and structure for the two Swiss giants, ASUAG and SSIH, which have decided to merge. Ernst Thomke, managing director of ASUAG's manufacturing arm, also figures prominently. The case outlines options for the positioning of the new, inexpensive Swatch brand as well as a number of other flagship Swiss brands. Focuses on alignment of strategy with the structure of the new company. Topics to address include the management of change and the formulation of a detailed action plan to make the new company succeed.
Swot Analysis of "Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A)" written by Michael L. Tushman, Daniel B. Radov includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Swiss Watch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational structure, Product development, Strategy execution, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss Watch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Swiss Watch 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Swiss Watch
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 Swiss Watch
Strengths Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Swiss Watch in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Swiss Watch 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 Swiss Watch is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Swiss Watch 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 Swiss Watch in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Swiss Watch in the sector have low bargaining power. Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Swiss Watch to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Swiss Watch has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Swiss Watch has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Swiss Watch 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Swiss Watch is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Swiss Watch digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Swiss Watch 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Swiss Watch 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.
Analytics focus
– Swiss Watch 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 Michael L. Tushman, Daniel B. Radov 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Swiss Watch is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Swiss Watch 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Swiss Watch is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Swiss Watch, firm in the HBR case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Swiss Watch has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Swiss Watch is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A), is just above the industry average. Swiss Watch needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Swiss Watch has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Swiss Watch 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Swiss Watch needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Swiss Watch 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. Swiss Watch 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Swiss Watch is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Swiss Watch 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.
Opportunities Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) | 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Swiss Watch 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Swiss Watch has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Swiss Watch to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) case study. Swiss Watch can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Swiss Watch can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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. Swiss Watch can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Swiss Watch can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Swiss Watch 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Swiss Watch 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. Swiss Watch 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Swiss Watch in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Swiss Watch 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Swiss Watch in the consumer business. Now Swiss Watch can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Swiss Watch 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Swiss Watch can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Swiss Watch operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Swiss Watch 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.
Threats Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Swiss Watch has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Swiss Watch needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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. Swiss Watch 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Swiss Watch needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Swiss Watch 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Swiss Watch 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.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Swiss Watch in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Swiss Watch 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.
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 Swiss Watch business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Swiss Watch
– 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 Swiss Watch.
Environmental challenges
– Swiss Watch 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. Swiss Watch can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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.
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 Swiss Watch.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Swiss Watch with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry--1980-92 (A) 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 Swiss Watch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.