Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World
Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW), a Hong Kong-based Internet company, emerged from an insignificant position since its mid-1999 listing to be a leading Internet player in Asia and China in early 2000. To achieve its growth, PCCW has followed an aggressive acquisition strategy, providing it with ownership positions in a multitude of Internet ventures. The case is positioned at the time of PCCW's largest potential acquisition--Hong Kong Telecom--the fourth largest company in Hong Kong.
Swot Analysis of "Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World" written by Andrew Delios, Dennis Lai includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cyberworks Pccw facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cyberworks Pccw, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cyberworks Pccw 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cyberworks Pccw
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 Cyberworks Pccw
Strengths Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cyberworks Pccw in Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cyberworks Pccw 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Cyberworks Pccw 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 Andrew Delios, Dennis Lai 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 lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Cyberworks Pccw 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 Cyberworks Pccw in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Cyberworks Pccw has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cyberworks Pccw to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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.
Learning organization
- Cyberworks Pccw 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 Cyberworks Pccw is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cyberworks Pccw is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cyberworks Pccw has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cyberworks Pccw
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cyberworks Pccw does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cyberworks Pccw digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cyberworks Pccw in the sector have low bargaining power. Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cyberworks Pccw to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World, in the dynamic environment Cyberworks Pccw has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cyberworks Pccw has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cyberworks Pccw 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.
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 Cyberworks Pccw supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cyberworks Pccw vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Cyberworks Pccw has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World HBR case study mentions - Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cyberworks Pccw is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Cyberworks Pccw needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cyberworks Pccw to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Cyberworks Pccw has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cyberworks Pccw products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cyberworks Pccw needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cyberworks Pccw 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. Cyberworks Pccw 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Cyberworks Pccw 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World | 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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, Cyberworks Pccw can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cyberworks Pccw operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cyberworks Pccw 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cyberworks Pccw to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Cyberworks Pccw can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cyberworks Pccw can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Cyberworks Pccw can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
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. Cyberworks Pccw can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cyberworks Pccw has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cyberworks Pccw to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World case study. Cyberworks Pccw can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cyberworks Pccw 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 Cyberworks Pccw to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cyberworks Pccw is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Threats Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World are -
Increasing wage structure of Cyberworks Pccw
– 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 Cyberworks Pccw.
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 Cyberworks Pccw business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Cyberworks Pccw needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cyberworks Pccw is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cyberworks Pccw 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.
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 Cyberworks Pccw.
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. Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cyberworks Pccw 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 Cyberworks Pccw 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, Cyberworks Pccw 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cyberworks Pccw 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.
Environmental challenges
– Cyberworks Pccw 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. Cyberworks Pccw can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Pacific Century Cyberworks (A): Connecting to the World 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 Cyberworks Pccw needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
