Case Study Description of CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92
In 1992, CIBC CEO Al Flood faced the short-term operational challenge of saving Wood Gundy, the troubled investment bank CIBC had purchased five years earlier. At the same time he had to tackle the long-term strategic challenge of integrating Gundy's investment banking capabilities with CIBC's established and successful corporate banking organization.
Swot Analysis of "CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92" written by Joseph L. Bower, Michael E. Raynor includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cibc Banking facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cibc Banking, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cibc Banking
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 Cibc Banking
Strengths CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cibc Banking in CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cibc Banking 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.
High brand equity
– Cibc Banking has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cibc Banking to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cibc Banking in the sector have low bargaining power. CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cibc Banking to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Cibc Banking 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 Joseph L. Bower, Michael E. Raynor 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
– Cibc Banking is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cibc Banking digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cibc Banking 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cibc Banking is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cibc Banking
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cibc Banking does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cibc Banking has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cibc Banking 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.
Weaknesses CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cibc Banking is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cibc Banking 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 - CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cibc Banking 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92, is just above the industry average. Cibc Banking 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Joseph L. Bower, Michael E. Raynor suggests that, Cibc Banking 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cibc Banking 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. Cibc Banking 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cibc Banking 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 HBR case study mentions - Cibc Banking 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Cibc Banking 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 Cibc Banking 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 | 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cibc Banking can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cibc Banking operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cibc Banking to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cibc Banking 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, Cibc Banking is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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. Cibc Banking can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Cibc Banking can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cibc Banking 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Cibc Banking 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cibc Banking 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cibc Banking 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, CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92, 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
– Cibc Banking 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cibc Banking 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 Cibc Banking can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 are -
Environmental challenges
– Cibc Banking 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. Cibc Banking can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cibc Banking 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cibc Banking is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Cibc Banking can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Cibc Banking.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92, Cibc Banking 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cibc Banking with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Cibc Banking business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Cibc Banking
– 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 Cibc Banking.
Regulatory challenges
– Cibc Banking 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cibc Banking 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cibc Banking 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A)--1987-92 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 Cibc Banking needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.