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Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts


In 1830, Governor Levi Lincoln, Jr. urged the Massachusetts state legislature to introduce a limited liability regime for manufacturing corporations similar to that adopted in neighboring states. At least since 1809, shareholders in the state's manufacturing corporations had faced unlimited liability, which held shareholders personally liable for corporate debts. While unlimited liability was meant to ensure financial prudence, Lincoln and others worried that this policy was doing more harm than good and driving capital from the state. With the governor pushing for action, it was up to the state legislature to decide how to proceed.

Authors :: David A. Moss, Eugene Kintgen

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Business law, Economic development, Ethics, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts" written by David A. Moss, Eugene Kintgen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Liability Unlimited facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business law, Economic development, Ethics and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Liability Unlimited, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Liability Unlimited 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Liability Unlimited
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 Liability Unlimited




Strengths Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Liability Unlimited in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts Harvard Business Review case study are -

Analytics focus

– Liability Unlimited 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 David A. Moss, Eugene Kintgen 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Liability Unlimited 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Liability Unlimited 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Liability Unlimited has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Liability Unlimited 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Liability Unlimited 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Diverse revenue streams

– Liability Unlimited is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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.

Training and development

– Liability Unlimited has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Liability Unlimited is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Liability Unlimited in the sector have low bargaining power. Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Liability Unlimited to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Learning organization

- Liability Unlimited 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 Liability Unlimited is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Liability Unlimited to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Liability Unlimited to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– Liability Unlimited is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.






Weaknesses Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Liability Unlimited 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Liability Unlimited products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Liability Unlimited needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Liability Unlimited, firm in the HBR case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Liability Unlimited 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Liability Unlimited has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Liability Unlimited 's lucrative customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts HBR case study mentions - Liability Unlimited 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Liability Unlimited 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Liability Unlimited is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Liability Unlimited needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Liability Unlimited to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts, is just above the industry average. Liability Unlimited 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts, 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.




Opportunities Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts | 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Liability Unlimited 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.

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 Liability Unlimited in the consumer business. Now Liability Unlimited can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Liability Unlimited has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Liability Unlimited to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts case study. Liability Unlimited can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Liability Unlimited 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Liability Unlimited 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Liability Unlimited to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Liability Unlimited 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Liability Unlimited 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Liability Unlimited is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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.

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. Liability Unlimited can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Liability Unlimited 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, Liability Unlimited 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, Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Developing new processes and practices

– Liability Unlimited 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Liability Unlimited to increase its market reach. Liability Unlimited 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.




Threats Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts are -

Regulatory challenges

– Liability Unlimited 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.

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. Liability Unlimited 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Liability Unlimited with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts, Liability Unlimited 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 .

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Liability Unlimited 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Liability Unlimited 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, Liability Unlimited 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts .

Increasing wage structure of Liability Unlimited

– 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 Liability Unlimited.

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 Liability Unlimited.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Liability Unlimited 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.

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 Liability Unlimited business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Liability Unlimited 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts 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 Liability Unlimited needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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