Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. There are now at least 10 separate schools of thought regarding strategy and more than a dozen common definitions of the term. To clarify and deepen our understanding of corporate strategy, the author suggests general guidelines that set the boundaries of the discipline to facilitate future executive decisions. The author argues that strategy comprises three objectives: creating value, handling imitation, and shaping a perimeter. The ability to sustain value creation, whether from the customer's or the shareholder's perspective, is the ultimate goal of any strategy. Concepts such as benchmarking, differentiation, core competencies, unique resources, institutionalism, and competitive rivalry are all connected with the ability to prevent, implement, or leverage imitation. Decisions about diversification, outsourcing, vertical integration, internationalization, and positioning are all linked with the search for a profitable perimeter.
Swot Analysis of "Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy" written by Frederic Frery includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Perimeter Imitation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Perimeter Imitation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Perimeter Imitation 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Perimeter Imitation
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 Perimeter Imitation
Strengths Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Perimeter Imitation in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Perimeter Imitation 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Perimeter Imitation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Perimeter Imitation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Perimeter Imitation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Perimeter Imitation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Perimeter Imitation 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Perimeter Imitation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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.
Analytics focus
– Perimeter Imitation 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 Frederic Frery 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.
Training and development
– Perimeter Imitation has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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.
Learning organization
- Perimeter Imitation 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 Perimeter Imitation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Perimeter Imitation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Perimeter Imitation in the sector have low bargaining power. Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Perimeter Imitation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Perimeter Imitation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Perimeter Imitation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Perimeter Imitation, firm in the HBR case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Perimeter Imitation 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Perimeter Imitation 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. Perimeter Imitation 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy, in the dynamic environment Perimeter Imitation has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Perimeter Imitation has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Perimeter Imitation is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy HBR case study mentions - Perimeter Imitation 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Perimeter Imitation 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy, is just above the industry average. Perimeter Imitation 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Perimeter Imitation 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 - Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Perimeter Imitation 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Perimeter Imitation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy | 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy are -
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. Perimeter Imitation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Perimeter Imitation 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.
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 Perimeter Imitation 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.
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 Perimeter Imitation in the consumer business. Now Perimeter Imitation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Perimeter Imitation 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 Perimeter Imitation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Perimeter Imitation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Perimeter Imitation 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.
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. Perimeter Imitation 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. Perimeter Imitation 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Perimeter Imitation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Perimeter Imitation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Perimeter Imitation 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.
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. Perimeter Imitation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Perimeter Imitation 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Perimeter Imitation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Perimeter Imitation 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Perimeter Imitation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Perimeter Imitation 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.
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. Perimeter Imitation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Perimeter Imitation is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Perimeter Imitation 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Perimeter Imitation 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.
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 Perimeter Imitation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Perimeter Imitation 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy .
Regulatory challenges
– Perimeter Imitation 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.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Perimeter Imitation in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Perimeter Imitation 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Perimeter Imitation 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. Perimeter Imitation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy 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 Perimeter Imitation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.