Swot Analysis of "From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co." written by James K. Sebenius, David T. Kotchen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stanley Morgan facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Mergers & acquisitions, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stanley Morgan, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stanley Morgan 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stanley Morgan
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Stanley Morgan
Strengths From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stanley Morgan in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stanley Morgan to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stanley Morgan to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Stanley Morgan is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Stanley Morgan is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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.
High brand equity
– Stanley Morgan has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Stanley Morgan to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Stanley Morgan is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Stanley Morgan 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Stanley Morgan 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 Stanley Morgan in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Stanley Morgan
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stanley Morgan does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Stanley Morgan has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Stanley Morgan 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Stanley Morgan 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Stanley Morgan is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., in the dynamic environment Stanley Morgan has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Stanley Morgan has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stanley Morgan is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., is just above the industry average. Stanley Morgan 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Stanley Morgan 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 - From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Stanley Morgan is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Stanley Morgan needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Stanley Morgan to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Stanley Morgan, firm in the HBR case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Stanley Morgan 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stanley Morgan products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stanley Morgan needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Stanley Morgan 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. Stanley Morgan 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 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 Stanley Morgan supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Stanley Morgan vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. | 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Stanley Morgan can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stanley Morgan operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Stanley Morgan 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. Stanley Morgan 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Stanley Morgan to increase its market reach. Stanley Morgan 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Stanley Morgan 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Stanley Morgan can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Stanley Morgan 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.
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 Stanley Morgan in the consumer business. Now Stanley Morgan can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Stanley Morgan can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Stanley Morgan can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Stanley Morgan has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Stanley Morgan to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. case study. Stanley Morgan can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stanley Morgan 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Stanley Morgan can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Stanley Morgan 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, From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Stanley Morgan 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Stanley Morgan has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Stanley Morgan needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Stanley Morgan can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stanley Morgan 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.
Increasing wage structure of Stanley Morgan
– 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 Stanley Morgan.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Stanley Morgan with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Stanley Morgan business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Stanley Morgan.
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. Stanley Morgan 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Stanley Morgan is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Stanley Morgan 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. Stanley Morgan can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Stanley Morgan in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. 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 Stanley Morgan needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.