Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A)
Less than a year after Sealed Air embarked on a program to improve manufacturing efficiency and product quality, the company borrowed almost 90% of the market value of its common stock and paid it out as a special dividend to shareholders. Management purposefully and successfully used the leveraged recapitalization as a watershed event, creating a crisis that disrupted the status quo and promoted internal change, which included establishing a new objective, changing compensation systems, and reorganizing manufacturing and capital budgeting processes.
Swot Analysis of "Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A)" written by Karen H. Wruck, Brian Barry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sealed Recapitalization facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Costs, Crisis management, Financial markets and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sealed Recapitalization, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sealed Recapitalization
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 Sealed Recapitalization
Strengths Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sealed Recapitalization in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Recapitalization in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Sealed Recapitalization has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sealed Recapitalization is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sealed Recapitalization to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sealed Recapitalization to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sealed Recapitalization is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sealed Recapitalization digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sealed Recapitalization
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sealed Recapitalization does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Recapitalization 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sealed Recapitalization is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sealed Recapitalization 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. Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sealed Recapitalization, firm in the HBR case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Sealed Recapitalization supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sealed Recapitalization vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), it seems that the employees of Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), in the dynamic environment Sealed Recapitalization has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sealed Recapitalization has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sealed Recapitalization is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Sealed Recapitalization needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sealed Recapitalization to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sealed Recapitalization products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sealed Recapitalization needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), is just above the industry average. Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Opportunities Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sealed Recapitalization to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sealed Recapitalization has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sealed Recapitalization to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) case study. Sealed Recapitalization can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Sealed Recapitalization can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sealed Recapitalization can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sealed Recapitalization 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 Sealed Recapitalization to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Sealed Recapitalization can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sealed Recapitalization can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Sealed Recapitalization in the consumer business. Now Sealed Recapitalization can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sealed Recapitalization 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sealed Recapitalization 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, Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sealed Recapitalization 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
– Sealed Recapitalization 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. Sealed Recapitalization needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sealed Recapitalization is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Sealed Recapitalization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (A), Sealed Recapitalization 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Sealed Recapitalization 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sealed Recapitalization can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Sealed Recapitalization 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. Sealed Recapitalization can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sealed Recapitalization in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
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. Sealed Recapitalization 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.
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 Sealed Recapitalization business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Air Corps Leveraged Recapitalization (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 Sealed Recapitalization needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.