Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars
As equity-linked consideration has become more popular in acquisition and alliances, so has the use of the "price-protection" mechanisms, known variously as floors, caps, and collars. In general, these are contractual agreements that provide insurance to the shareholders of the selling firm, the buying firm, or both.
Swot Analysis of "Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars" written by Carliss Y. Baldwin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Collars Caps facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Pricing, Risk management and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Collars Caps, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Collars Caps 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Collars Caps
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 Collars Caps
Strengths Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Collars Caps in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Collars Caps is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Collars Caps 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Collars Caps digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Collars Caps 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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.
High brand equity
– Collars Caps has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Collars Caps to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Collars Caps has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Collars Caps in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Collars Caps 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Collars Caps 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 Collars Caps in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Collars Caps to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Collars Caps to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Collars Caps is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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.
Analytics focus
– Collars Caps 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 Carliss Y. Baldwin 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.
Weaknesses Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Carliss Y. Baldwin suggests that, Collars Caps 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Collars Caps 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Collars Caps 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Collars Caps, firm in the HBR case study Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Collars Caps is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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, Collars Caps 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Collars Caps 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 - Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars HBR case study mentions - Collars Caps 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 Collars Caps supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Collars Caps vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Collars Caps 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars | 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Collars Caps can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Collars Caps 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Collars Caps to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Collars Caps to increase its market reach. Collars Caps will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Collars Caps 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Collars Caps 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.
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. Collars Caps can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Collars Caps in the consumer business. Now Collars Caps can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Collars Caps 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Collars Caps 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, Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Collars Caps is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Collars Caps 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Collars Caps has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Collars Caps to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars case study. Collars Caps can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Collars Caps 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.
Threats Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Collars Caps with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Collars Caps 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. Collars Caps 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 Collars Caps.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Collars Caps 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Collars Caps 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Collars Caps is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Collars Caps business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Collars Caps has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Collars Caps 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.
Increasing wage structure of Collars Caps
– 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 Collars Caps.
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.
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. Collars Caps can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Collars Caps 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Technical Note on Consideration: Floors, Caps, and Collars 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 Collars Caps needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
