Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium
Most of the time, the world moves forward in tiny increments, as individuals and organizations hone and refine existing models: governments modify their services in hopes of producing better results, and businesses bring out the next generation of their existing products and services. But every once in a while-backed by revolutionary thinking-the world moves forward in a huge leap to a fundamentally new equilibrium. The authors show that over time, such paradigm shifts have been driven by two entities: government policy innovation and business entrepreneurial creation. But a third driver has emerged between these two poles: social entrepreneurship. The best part: social entrepreneurship makes possible equilibrium shifts that neither government or business could achieve on their own.
Swot Analysis of "Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium" written by Roger Martin, Sally Osberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Equilibrium Forward facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Equilibrium Forward, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Equilibrium Forward
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 Equilibrium Forward
Strengths Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Equilibrium Forward in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Equilibrium Forward to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Equilibrium Forward to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Equilibrium Forward 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 Equilibrium Forward in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Equilibrium Forward
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Equilibrium Forward does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Equilibrium Forward is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Equilibrium Forward is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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)
– Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium - 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
– Equilibrium Forward has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Equilibrium Forward is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Equilibrium Forward digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Equilibrium Forward 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.
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 Equilibrium Forward supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium, in the dynamic environment Equilibrium Forward has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Equilibrium Forward has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Equilibrium Forward is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Equilibrium Forward needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Equilibrium Forward to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Equilibrium Forward 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Equilibrium Forward 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. Equilibrium Forward 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Equilibrium Forward has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Equilibrium Forward is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Equilibrium Forward 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium HBR case study mentions - Equilibrium Forward 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium, 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.
Opportunities Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium | 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium are -
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. Equilibrium Forward can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Equilibrium Forward 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Equilibrium Forward can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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.
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. Equilibrium Forward 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, Equilibrium Forward 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
– Equilibrium Forward 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Equilibrium Forward 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Equilibrium Forward 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, Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Equilibrium Forward to increase its market reach. Equilibrium Forward 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 Equilibrium Forward 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 Equilibrium Forward to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Equilibrium Forward in the consumer business. Now Equilibrium Forward can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Equilibrium Forward can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Equilibrium Forward operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Equilibrium Forward 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Threats Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium are -
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. Equilibrium Forward 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Equilibrium Forward with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Equilibrium Forward 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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 Equilibrium Forward business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Equilibrium Forward is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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 Equilibrium Forward.
Increasing wage structure of Equilibrium Forward
– 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 Equilibrium Forward.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Equilibrium Forward 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
– Equilibrium Forward 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium, Equilibrium Forward may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Equilibrium Forward has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Equilibrium Forward needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
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 Equilibrium Forward in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Moving the World Forward: The Quest for a New Equilibrium 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 Equilibrium Forward needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.