Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future
An award-winning architectural practice plans to move into its new office, where filing (storage and retrieval) and communication (internal and external) would become digital. Anthony Ng, the managing director of the firm, is aware that his staff might object to the proposal and refuse to read documents on a computer screen. In addition, the new system might also spark other issues that could thwart its successful implementation.
Swot Analysis of "Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future" written by Thomas Kvan, Andrew Lee, Loretta Ho includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ng Anthony facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing people, Organizational culture and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ng Anthony, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ng Anthony 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ng Anthony
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ng Anthony
Strengths Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ng Anthony in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ng Anthony digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ng Anthony 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Ng Anthony 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 Ng Anthony in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ng Anthony 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.
Training and development
– Ng Anthony has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Ng Anthony is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ng Anthony is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ng Anthony in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Ng Anthony 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 Ng Anthony is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ng Anthony 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Ng Anthony
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ng Anthony does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ng Anthony to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ng Anthony to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ng Anthony 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.
Weaknesses Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future are -
Need for greater diversity
– Ng Anthony 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ng Anthony has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Ng Anthony 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ng Anthony is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Ng Anthony needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ng Anthony to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ng Anthony 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. Ng Anthony 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ng Anthony, firm in the HBR case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, in the dynamic environment Ng Anthony has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ng Anthony has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ng Anthony 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ng Anthony is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ng Anthony 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, it seems that the employees of Ng Anthony don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future | 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ng Anthony can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Ng Anthony can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ng Anthony 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ng Anthony can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ng Anthony 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 Technology & Operations 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 Ng Anthony 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ng Anthony in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ng Anthony 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ng Anthony to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ng Anthony 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ng Anthony 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.
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 Ng Anthony in the consumer business. Now Ng Anthony can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ng Anthony is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ng Anthony to increase its market reach. Ng Anthony 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.
Threats Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future are -
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ng Anthony in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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 Ng Anthony business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ng Anthony is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ng Anthony has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ng Anthony needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Ng Anthony 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. Ng Anthony can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ng Anthony with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Ng Anthony
– 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 Ng Anthony.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ng Anthony 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.
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 Ng Anthony in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, Ng Anthony may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ng Anthony 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ng Anthony 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Ng Anthony needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
