Swot Analysis of "Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C)" written by David F. Hawkins, Namrata Arora includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Catastrophes Bhopal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Catastrophes Bhopal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Catastrophes Bhopal 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Catastrophes Bhopal
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 Catastrophes Bhopal
Strengths Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Catastrophes Bhopal in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Catastrophes Bhopal 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 Catastrophes Bhopal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Catastrophes Bhopal 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
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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 David F. Hawkins, Namrata Arora 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Catastrophes Bhopal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Catastrophes Bhopal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Catastrophes Bhopal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Catastrophes Bhopal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Catastrophes Bhopal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Catastrophes Bhopal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Catastrophes Bhopal in the sector have low bargaining power. Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Catastrophes Bhopal to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Catastrophes Bhopal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Catastrophes Bhopal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Catastrophes Bhopal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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.
Weaknesses Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Catastrophes Bhopal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Catastrophes Bhopal, firm in the HBR case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Catastrophes Bhopal 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Catastrophes Bhopal 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Catastrophes Bhopal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Catastrophes Bhopal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C), it seems that the employees of Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Catastrophes Bhopal 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 - Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C), is just above the industry average. Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
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 Catastrophes Bhopal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Catastrophes Bhopal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) | 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Catastrophes Bhopal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Catastrophes Bhopal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) case study. Catastrophes Bhopal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Catastrophes Bhopal 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. Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Catastrophes Bhopal to increase its market reach. Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Catastrophes Bhopal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Catastrophes Bhopal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Catastrophes Bhopal 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 Catastrophes Bhopal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Catastrophes Bhopal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Catastrophes Bhopal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Catastrophes Bhopal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Catastrophes Bhopal 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, Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Catastrophes Bhopal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) are -
Increasing wage structure of Catastrophes Bhopal
– 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 Catastrophes Bhopal.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Catastrophes Bhopal is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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. Catastrophes Bhopal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Catastrophes Bhopal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Catastrophes Bhopal 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Catastrophes Bhopal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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. Catastrophes Bhopal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Catastrophes Bhopal 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.
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 Catastrophes Bhopal.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Accounting for Catastrophes: BP PLC and Union Carbide Corporation (C) 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 Catastrophes Bhopal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
