Features a firm with a strong, successful, clearly-defined product market strategy. In 1982, this strategy was augmented by new management to include other, conflicting goals. This has an immediate negative impact on the stock market's evaluation of Goodyear's stock and attracts the attention of corporate raider Sir James Goldsmith. In an attempt to ensure independence, Goodyear management responds by returning the firm to its previous investment strategy: selling off new investment, dramatically increasing debt, and repurchasing stock. The case emphasizes that the firm with the greatest potential value gain is most vulnerable to a takeover attempt.
Swot Analysis of "Goodyear Restructuring" written by Paul Asquith includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Goodyear Stock facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Goodyear Restructuring case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Reorganization, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Goodyear Restructuring casestudy better are - – technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Goodyear Restructuring
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Goodyear Restructuring case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Goodyear Stock, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Restructuring can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Goodyear Restructuring case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Goodyear Stock
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 Goodyear Stock
Strengths Goodyear Restructuring | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Goodyear Stock in Goodyear Restructuring Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Goodyear Stock is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Goodyear Restructuring are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Restructuring HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Goodyear Restructuring 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Goodyear Stock is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Goodyear Restructuring Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Goodyear Stock has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Goodyear Stock to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Restructuring - 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 Finance & Accounting field
– Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Stock in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Goodyear Restructuring firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Goodyear Stock to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Goodyear Stock to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Goodyear Stock 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 Paul Asquith 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
– Goodyear Stock has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Goodyear Stock 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
– Goodyear Stock is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Goodyear Stock in the sector have low bargaining power. Goodyear Restructuring has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Goodyear Stock to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Goodyear Restructuring | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Goodyear Restructuring are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Goodyear Stock has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Goodyear Stock 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. Goodyear Stock 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Goodyear Stock 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Goodyear Restructuring, in the dynamic environment Goodyear Stock has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Goodyear Stock has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Goodyear Stock 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Goodyear Stock products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Goodyear Stock 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, Paul Asquith suggests that, Goodyear Stock 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Stock 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Goodyear Stock 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 - Goodyear Restructuring should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Stock has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Goodyear Stock supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Goodyear Restructuring, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Goodyear Stock vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Goodyear Restructuring | 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 Goodyear Restructuring are -
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 Goodyear Stock in the consumer business. Now Goodyear Stock can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Goodyear Stock can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Goodyear Restructuring 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Goodyear Stock 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Goodyear Stock to increase its market reach. Goodyear Stock 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Goodyear Stock 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Goodyear Stock 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Goodyear Stock is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Goodyear Restructuring 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. Goodyear Stock can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Goodyear Stock 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Stock to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Goodyear Stock 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Goodyear Stock in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Goodyear Stock 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, Goodyear Restructuring, 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 Goodyear Restructuring External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Goodyear Restructuring are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Goodyear Restructuring, Goodyear Stock 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Goodyear Stock 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.
Increasing wage structure of Goodyear Stock
– 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 Goodyear Stock.
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 Goodyear Stock business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Goodyear Stock needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Goodyear Stock 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.
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 Goodyear Stock in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Goodyear Stock 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Goodyear Stock has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Goodyear Stock 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.
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 Goodyear Stock.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Goodyear Stock 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 Goodyear Restructuring .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Restructuring 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 Goodyear Stock needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
