Swot Analysis of "Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version" written by Mihir A. Desai, Kathleen Luchs, Alberto Moel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sbs Zelezny facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Joint ventures, Negotiations, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sbs Zelezny, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sbs Zelezny
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 Sbs Zelezny
Strengths Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sbs Zelezny in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Sbs Zelezny 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 Sbs Zelezny in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sbs Zelezny are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Sbs Zelezny 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 Sbs Zelezny is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Sbs Zelezny is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sbs Zelezny is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Sbs Zelezny is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sbs Zelezny digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sbs Zelezny has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Organizational Resilience of Sbs Zelezny
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sbs Zelezny does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sbs Zelezny has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sbs Zelezny 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.
Weaknesses Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version HBR case study mentions - Sbs Zelezny 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sbs Zelezny is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sbs Zelezny 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 - Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version, in the dynamic environment Sbs Zelezny has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sbs Zelezny has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sbs Zelezny 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.
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 Sbs Zelezny supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sbs Zelezny vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sbs Zelezny is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Sbs Zelezny needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sbs Zelezny to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sbs Zelezny 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. Sbs Zelezny 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Sbs Zelezny has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version | 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version are -
Buying journey improvements
– Sbs Zelezny can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Sbs Zelezny 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sbs Zelezny can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sbs Zelezny operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sbs Zelezny 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sbs Zelezny can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Manufacturing automation
– Sbs Zelezny 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sbs Zelezny to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sbs Zelezny can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sbs Zelezny is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sbs Zelezny 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.
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 Sbs Zelezny in the consumer business. Now Sbs Zelezny can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Sbs Zelezny 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sbs Zelezny to increase its market reach. Sbs Zelezny 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.
Threats Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version are -
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 Sbs Zelezny.
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. Sbs Zelezny 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version, Sbs Zelezny 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 .
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 Sbs Zelezny in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Sbs Zelezny 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sbs Zelezny 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sbs Zelezny 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version .
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. Sbs Zelezny needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sbs Zelezny 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.
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. Sbs Zelezny can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Sbs Zelezny business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Sbs Zelezny 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (B2)--SBS Negotiates, Chinese Version 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 Sbs Zelezny needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
