Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times
The rapid growth in quantity and quality of universities in China since 1978 is the most recent evolution in a long history of higher education. From as early as the Tang Dynasty, academies existed to prepare scholars for the civil service examination, but by the Republican period, higher learning was dominated by a host of well-regarded, cosmopolitan, comprehensive universities. In 1952, these institutions were reorganized according to the Soviet model, and remained highly specialized until the resurgence of comprehensive institutions after 1978. This background note describes this history and then elaborates on the system of higher education since 2000, focusing on university governance, funding, faculty policy, admissions systems, and internationalization. It concludes by looking at the tightening of ideological control in universities in 2013 and 2014, and reflects on the potential for China to establish "world-class" universities.
Swot Analysis of "Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times" written by William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Universities 1978 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Education and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Universities 1978, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Universities 1978 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Universities 1978
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 Universities 1978
Strengths Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Universities 1978 in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Universities 1978 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Universities 1978 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Universities 1978 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Universities 1978 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Universities 1978 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Universities 1978 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Universities 1978 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Universities 1978 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Universities 1978 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 William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby 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 Universities 1978 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 Universities 1978 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
– Universities 1978 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Universities 1978 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Universities 1978 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Universities 1978 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times, in the dynamic environment Universities 1978 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Universities 1978 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times HBR case study mentions - Universities 1978 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.
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 Universities 1978 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Universities 1978 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Universities 1978 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. Universities 1978 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times, is just above the industry average. Universities 1978 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Universities 1978 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Universities 1978 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Universities 1978 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Universities 1978, firm in the HBR case study Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Universities 1978 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Universities 1978 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Universities 1978 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times, 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times | 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Universities 1978 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.
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 Universities 1978 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Universities 1978 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Universities 1978 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Universities 1978 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Universities 1978 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Universities 1978 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Universities 1978 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Universities 1978 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Universities 1978 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Universities 1978 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Universities 1978 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 Universities 1978 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Universities 1978 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.
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 Universities 1978 in the consumer business. Now Universities 1978 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Universities 1978 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
– Universities 1978 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. Universities 1978 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Universities 1978 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Universities 1978.
Regulatory challenges
– Universities 1978 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Universities 1978 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times .
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 Universities 1978 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Universities 1978 is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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. Universities 1978 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
– Universities 1978 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.
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. Universities 1978 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Universities 1978
– 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 Universities 1978.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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 Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times 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 Universities 1978 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.