Case Study Description of Legal Aspects of Pricing
This technical note explores some of the legal implications that companies face when deciding how to price their goods. It focuses on the three main federal antitrust laws: the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Robinson-Patman Act. By learning the basics of these antitrust laws, those who read this note will have a better idea of how to avoid violating these laws.
Swot Analysis of "Legal Aspects of Pricing" written by Ronald T Wilcox, Jordan Kelner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Antitrust Laws facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Legal Aspects of Pricing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Legal Aspects of Pricing casestudy better are - – technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Legal Aspects of Pricing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Legal Aspects of Pricing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Antitrust Laws, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Antitrust Laws 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Legal Aspects of Pricing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Antitrust Laws
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 Antitrust Laws
Strengths Legal Aspects of Pricing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Antitrust Laws in Legal Aspects of Pricing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Antitrust Laws
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Antitrust Laws does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Antitrust Laws 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Antitrust Laws in the sector have low bargaining power. Legal Aspects of Pricing has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Antitrust Laws to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Antitrust Laws 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 Antitrust Laws is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Legal Aspects of Pricing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Antitrust Laws is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Legal Aspects of Pricing 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Antitrust Laws is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Antitrust Laws in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Antitrust Laws 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing - 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
– Antitrust Laws has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Legal Aspects of Pricing 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Legal Aspects of Pricing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Antitrust Laws to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Antitrust Laws to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Antitrust Laws has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Antitrust Laws to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Antitrust Laws 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 Ronald T Wilcox, Jordan Kelner 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.
Weaknesses Legal Aspects of Pricing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Legal Aspects of Pricing are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Antitrust Laws 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Antitrust Laws is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Antitrust Laws supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Legal Aspects of Pricing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Antitrust Laws vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Legal Aspects of Pricing, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Legal Aspects of Pricing HBR case study mentions - Antitrust Laws 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Antitrust Laws 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Antitrust Laws 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. Antitrust Laws even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Antitrust Laws is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Legal Aspects of Pricing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Antitrust Laws is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Antitrust Laws needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Antitrust Laws to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Antitrust Laws 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Antitrust Laws products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Antitrust Laws needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Legal Aspects of Pricing | 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Antitrust Laws has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Antitrust Laws to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Legal Aspects of Pricing case study. Antitrust Laws can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Antitrust Laws in the consumer business. Now Antitrust Laws can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Antitrust Laws 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 Antitrust Laws to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Antitrust Laws 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Antitrust Laws to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Antitrust Laws to increase its market reach. Antitrust Laws 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Antitrust Laws 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. Antitrust Laws 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Antitrust Laws can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Antitrust Laws operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Antitrust Laws to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Developing new processes and practices
– Antitrust Laws can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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. Antitrust Laws can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Antitrust Laws can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Antitrust Laws 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
– Antitrust Laws can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Threats Legal Aspects of Pricing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Legal Aspects of Pricing are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Antitrust Laws is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Antitrust Laws high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Antitrust Laws 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Antitrust Laws 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.
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 Antitrust Laws business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Antitrust Laws 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Antitrust Laws can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Antitrust Laws with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Antitrust Laws in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Antitrust Laws 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. Antitrust Laws can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Antitrust Laws will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Antitrust Laws in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Legal Aspects of Pricing 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 Antitrust Laws needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.