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 - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Stanley Morgan in the sector have low bargaining power. From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Stanley Morgan to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
Learning organization
- Stanley Morgan 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 Stanley Morgan is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Stanley Morgan 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 James K. Sebenius, David T. Kotchen 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Stanley Morgan digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Stanley Morgan 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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Stanley Morgan is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Stanley Morgan 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Stanley Morgan has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stanley Morgan 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.
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.
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Stanley Morgan 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Stanley Morgan 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Stanley Morgan 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Stanley Morgan 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 From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Stanley Morgan 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 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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Stanley Morgan 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.
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.
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. Stanley Morgan can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 -
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.
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. Stanley Morgan needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Stanley Morgan in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Stanley Morgan 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Stanley Morgan high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Consumer confidence and its impact on 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.
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.
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.
