Swot Analysis of "Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B)" written by Robert A. Burgelman, Philip Meza includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fab Interplay facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fab Interplay, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fab Interplay 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fab Interplay
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 Fab Interplay
Strengths Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fab Interplay in Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Fab Interplay is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fab Interplay is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Fab Interplay 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 Fab Interplay in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fab Interplay in the sector have low bargaining power. Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fab Interplay to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Fab Interplay
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Fab Interplay does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Fab Interplay is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fab Interplay 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fab Interplay in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fab Interplay digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fab Interplay 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fab Interplay 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Fab Interplay 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) HBR case study mentions - Fab Interplay 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B), it seems that the employees of Fab Interplay don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fab Interplay 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 - Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B), 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.
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 Fab Interplay supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fab Interplay vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fab Interplay 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Fab Interplay 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 Fab Interplay, firm in the HBR case study Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Fab Interplay products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fab Interplay needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert A. Burgelman, Philip Meza suggests that, Fab Interplay is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fab Interplay has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) | 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fab Interplay 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fab Interplay can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Fab Interplay 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fab Interplay can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fab Interplay operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Fab Interplay can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fab Interplay can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Fab Interplay in the consumer business. Now Fab Interplay can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fab Interplay 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fab Interplay to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Fab Interplay 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fab Interplay 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 Fab Interplay to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fab Interplay 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fab Interplay has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fab Interplay to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) case study. Fab Interplay can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fab Interplay 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.
Threats Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) are -
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Fab Interplay 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fab Interplay has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fab Interplay 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B), Fab Interplay 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fab Interplay 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 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.
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. Fab Interplay needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fab Interplay 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fab Interplay with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fab Interplay 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fab Interplay 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) .
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 Fab Interplay in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fab Interplay is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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 Interplay of Strategy and Finance at Intel: The Fab Location Decision (B) 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 Fab Interplay needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
