Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions
To date, the United States has declined to ratify the Kyoto Treaty to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, many companies are taking advantage of the lack of a mandatory U.S. GHG emission reduction program to set targets at their own pace and in ways that complement their own strategic objectives. Currently, as many as 60 corporations, with net revenues of roughly $1.5 trillion, have set voluntary reduction targets. Many of these companies are agnostic about the science of climate change or the social responsibility of protecting the global climate. The reasons are decidedly strategic. So why are they doing this? They are searching for ways to be prepared for the long term should GHG emission reductions become mandatory, while at the same time attempting to reap near-term economic and strategic benefits should new regulations not emerge.
Swot Analysis of "Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions" written by Andrew J. Hoffman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ghg Climate facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ghg Climate, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ghg Climate 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ghg Climate
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 Ghg Climate
Strengths Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ghg Climate in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Ghg Climate 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 Ghg Climate is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ghg Climate 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.
High brand equity
– Ghg Climate has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ghg Climate to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ghg Climate to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ghg Climate to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ghg Climate 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Ghg Climate 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 Ghg Climate in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ghg Climate in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ghg Climate 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 Ghg Climate in the sector have low bargaining power. Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ghg Climate to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ghg Climate is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ghg Climate has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ghg Climate 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Ghg Climate is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ghg Climate is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Ghg Climate needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ghg Climate to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ghg Climate is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ghg Climate is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ghg Climate 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ghg Climate 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ghg Climate 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ghg Climate products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ghg Climate needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ghg Climate 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 - Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ghg Climate, firm in the HBR case study Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Ghg Climate supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ghg Climate vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew J. Hoffman suggests that, Ghg Climate 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.
Opportunities Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions | 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions are -
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. Ghg Climate can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ghg Climate 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, Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Ghg Climate 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ghg Climate 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ghg Climate 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ghg Climate can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ghg Climate has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ghg Climate to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions case study. Ghg Climate can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ghg Climate 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ghg Climate 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ghg Climate 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ghg Climate 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 Ghg Climate to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ghg Climate 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ghg Climate can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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.
Threats Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ghg Climate 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions .
Environmental challenges
– Ghg Climate 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. Ghg Climate can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Ghg Climate.
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. Ghg Climate needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Ghg Climate in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ghg Climate is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Ghg Climate
– 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 Ghg Climate.
Regulatory challenges
– Ghg Climate 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ghg Climate has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ghg Climate needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ghg Climate 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 Ghg Climate business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ghg Climate 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions 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 Ghg Climate needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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