Swot Analysis of "GlaxoSmithKline in China (C)" written by John A. Quelch, Margaret Rodriguez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Glaxosmithkline 514049 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GlaxoSmithKline in China (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Glaxosmithkline 514049, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Glaxosmithkline 514049
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Glaxosmithkline 514049
Strengths GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Glaxosmithkline 514049 in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in GlaxoSmithKline in China (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.
Organizational Resilience of Glaxosmithkline 514049
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Glaxosmithkline 514049 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the GlaxoSmithKline in China (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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Glaxosmithkline 514049 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Glaxosmithkline 514049 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in GlaxoSmithKline in China (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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Glaxosmithkline 514049 in the sector have low bargaining power. GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Glaxosmithkline 514049 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Glaxosmithkline 514049 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C), it seems that the employees of Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Glaxosmithkline 514049 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. Glaxosmithkline 514049 even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Glaxosmithkline 514049 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C), in the dynamic environment Glaxosmithkline 514049 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Glaxosmithkline 514049 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John A. Quelch, Margaret Rodriguez suggests that, Glaxosmithkline 514049 is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) HBR case study mentions - Glaxosmithkline 514049 takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Glaxosmithkline 514049, firm in the HBR case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Glaxosmithkline 514049 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Glaxosmithkline 514049 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) case study. Glaxosmithkline 514049 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Glaxosmithkline 514049 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. GlaxoSmithKline in China (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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Glaxosmithkline 514049 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Glaxosmithkline 514049 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Glaxosmithkline 514049 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Glaxosmithkline 514049 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Glaxosmithkline 514049 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Glaxosmithkline 514049 to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 in the consumer business. Now Glaxosmithkline 514049 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Glaxosmithkline 514049 to increase its market reach. Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Glaxosmithkline 514049 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GlaxoSmithKline in China (C) are -
Environmental challenges
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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. Glaxosmithkline 514049 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Glaxosmithkline 514049 in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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.
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 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.
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 Glaxosmithkline 514049.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Glaxosmithkline 514049 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Glaxosmithkline 514049 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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Glaxosmithkline 514049 is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Glaxosmithkline 514049 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 GlaxoSmithKline in China (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 Glaxosmithkline 514049 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
