Swot Analysis of "Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures" written by Stig Leschly, Stacey Childress includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Districts Expenditures facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance, Financial analysis, Leadership, Policy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Districts Expenditures, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Districts Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Districts Expenditures
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 Districts Expenditures
Strengths Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Districts Expenditures in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Districts Expenditures in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Districts Expenditures 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Districts Expenditures 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
– Districts Expenditures is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Districts Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Districts Expenditures has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Districts Expenditures is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Districts Expenditures has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Districts Expenditures 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.
Learning organization
- Districts Expenditures 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 Districts Expenditures is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Districts Expenditures digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Districts Expenditures 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.
High brand equity
– Districts Expenditures has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Districts Expenditures to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Districts Expenditures is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Districts Expenditures needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Districts Expenditures to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Districts Expenditures 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures, in the dynamic environment Districts Expenditures has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Districts Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Districts Expenditures 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Districts Expenditures 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures, is just above the industry average. Districts Expenditures 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Districts Expenditures is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Districts Expenditures has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Districts Expenditures, firm in the HBR case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Districts Expenditures 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.
Opportunities Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures | 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Districts Expenditures in the consumer business. Now Districts Expenditures 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 Districts Expenditures to increase its market reach. Districts Expenditures 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Districts Expenditures 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 Districts Expenditures to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Districts Expenditures 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Districts Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Districts Expenditures to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Districts Expenditures has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Districts Expenditures to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures case study. Districts Expenditures can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Districts Expenditures can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Districts Expenditures 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Districts Expenditures 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Districts Expenditures can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Districts Expenditures can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Districts Expenditures can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Districts Expenditures operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Districts Expenditures 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.
Threats Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures are -
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. Districts Expenditures needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Districts Expenditures is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Districts Expenditures with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Districts Expenditures 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. Districts Expenditures can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Districts Expenditures 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.
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. Districts Expenditures 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Districts Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures .
Regulatory challenges
– Districts Expenditures 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Districts Expenditures 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.
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 Districts Expenditures business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures, Districts Expenditures 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 .
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.
Increasing wage structure of Districts Expenditures
– 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 Districts Expenditures.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures 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 Districts Expenditures needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.