Case Study Description of Financing of Project Achieve (A)
An entrepreneur is forced to analyze the tradeoffs between different equity providers through a detailed analysis of venture financing terms and cash flow forecasts. The founder of a Web-based IMS for schools must negotiate a term sheet, determine funding needs, value her company, and finalize a venture deal. To obtain executable spreadsheets (courseware), please contact our customer service department at custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu.
Swot Analysis of "Financing of Project Achieve (A)" written by Mihir A. Desai includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ims Executable facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Financing of Project Achieve (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Technology, Venture capital and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Financing of Project Achieve (A) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Financing of Project Achieve (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Financing of Project Achieve (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ims Executable, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ims Executable 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 Financing of Project Achieve (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Financing of Project Achieve (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ims Executable
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 Ims Executable
Strengths Financing of Project Achieve (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ims Executable in Financing of Project Achieve (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Ims Executable 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 Mihir A. Desai 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ims Executable
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ims Executable does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Ims Executable 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 Ims Executable is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Financing of Project Achieve (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ims Executable is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Financing of Project Achieve (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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ims Executable has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ims Executable has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ims Executable is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Financing of Project Achieve (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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ims Executable in the sector have low bargaining power. Financing of Project Achieve (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ims Executable to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ims Executable 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Ims Executable is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Financing of Project Achieve (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ims Executable in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Financing of Project Achieve (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ims Executable to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ims Executable to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ims Executable digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ims Executable 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.
Weaknesses Financing of Project Achieve (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Financing of Project Achieve (A) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Financing of Project Achieve (A) HBR case study mentions - Ims Executable 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ims Executable 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. Ims Executable 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ims Executable products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ims Executable needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ims Executable has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ims Executable 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ims Executable 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 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 Ims Executable supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Financing of Project Achieve (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ims Executable vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Financing of Project Achieve (A), in the dynamic environment Ims Executable has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ims Executable has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Financing of Project Achieve (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 Ims Executable 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ims Executable is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Ims Executable needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ims Executable to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ims Executable 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 - Financing of Project Achieve (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Financing of Project Achieve (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 Financing of Project Achieve (A) are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ims Executable 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ims Executable 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, Ims Executable 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, Financing of Project Achieve (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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ims Executable can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Financing of Project Achieve (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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ims Executable 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ims Executable can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ims Executable operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ims Executable 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 Ims Executable 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 Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ims Executable can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ims Executable is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Financing of Project Achieve (A) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ims Executable 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 Financing of Project Achieve (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ims Executable to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Ims Executable can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Ims Executable 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. Ims Executable 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.
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 Ims Executable in the consumer business. Now Ims Executable can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Financing of Project Achieve (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Financing of Project Achieve (A) 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 Financing of Project Achieve (A), Ims Executable 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 .
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. Ims Executable needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Ims Executable.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ims Executable 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ims Executable 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ims Executable 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 Ims Executable in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ims Executable 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 Financing of Project Achieve (A) .
Environmental challenges
– Ims Executable 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. Ims Executable can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ims Executable has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ims Executable 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ims Executable 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.
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. Ims Executable 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Financing of Project Achieve (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 Financing of Project Achieve (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 Financing of Project Achieve (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 Financing of Project Achieve (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 Financing of Project Achieve (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 Ims Executable needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
