Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions
A medium-size Spanish company that manufactures steel sheet jobs for the automobile industry must decide on two alternatives to expand internationally. The choice of one or the other (or both) requires analysis of core competencies, customer base, risk, cost structures, and project financing. Because time is an issue, the decision must be made with incomplete information.
Authors :: Carlos Castanosa, Carlos Garcia Pont, Luis Palencia
Swot Analysis of "Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions" written by Carlos Castanosa, Carlos Garcia Pont, Luis Palencia includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Escatsa Hungary facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Growth strategy, Sales and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Escatsa Hungary, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Escatsa Hungary 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Escatsa Hungary
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 Escatsa Hungary
Strengths Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Escatsa Hungary in Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Escatsa Hungary digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Escatsa Hungary has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High brand equity
– Escatsa Hungary has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Escatsa Hungary to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Escatsa Hungary 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 Escatsa Hungary is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Escatsa Hungary 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Escatsa Hungary 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Escatsa Hungary to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Escatsa Hungary to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Escatsa Hungary has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Escatsa Hungary has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Escatsa Hungary in the sector have low bargaining power. Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Escatsa Hungary to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Escatsa Hungary 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 Carlos Castanosa, Carlos Garcia Pont, Luis Palencia 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Escatsa Hungary is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Escatsa Hungary
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Escatsa Hungary does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Escatsa Hungary has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions HBR case study mentions - Escatsa Hungary 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Escatsa Hungary 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 - Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa Hungary 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, Escatsa Hungary is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Escatsa Hungary 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions, in the dynamic environment Escatsa Hungary has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Escatsa Hungary has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Escatsa Hungary supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Escatsa Hungary vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Escatsa Hungary 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
Opportunities Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions | 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions are -
Manufacturing automation
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Escatsa Hungary in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Escatsa Hungary can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Escatsa Hungary operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Escatsa Hungary in the consumer business. Now Escatsa Hungary can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Escatsa Hungary 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Escatsa Hungary 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, Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Escatsa Hungary 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Escatsa Hungary to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Escatsa Hungary 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Escatsa Hungary 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Escatsa Hungary has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Escatsa Hungary to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions case study. Escatsa Hungary can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Escatsa Hungary is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
Threats Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions are -
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 Escatsa Hungary in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Escatsa Hungary 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
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Escatsa Hungary has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Escatsa Hungary 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions, Escatsa Hungary may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Escatsa Hungary business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Escatsa Hungary 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Escatsa Hungary 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Escatsa Hungary 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.
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. Escatsa Hungary will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing wage structure of Escatsa Hungary
– 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 Escatsa Hungary.
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. Escatsa Hungary can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa: The UK and Hungary Decisions 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 Escatsa Hungary needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.