Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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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 - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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 -
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.
High brand equity
– Ng Anthony has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ng Anthony to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ng Anthony in the sector have low bargaining power. Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ng Anthony to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Ng Anthony is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ng Anthony is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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
– Ng Anthony has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ng Anthony 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ng Anthony 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Thomas Kvan, Andrew Lee, Loretta Ho suggests that, Ng Anthony 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future 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 Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ng Anthony is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
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 Ng Anthony supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ng Anthony vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ng Anthony products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ng Anthony needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future HBR case study mentions - Ng Anthony 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Ng Anthony can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ng Anthony 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, Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ng Anthony has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ng Anthony to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Anthony Ng Architects Ltd.: Building Towards a Paperless Future case study. Ng Anthony can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ng Anthony can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
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 -
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.
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. Ng Anthony needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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 .
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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Ng Anthony will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ng Anthony high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Environmental challenges
– 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.
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 .
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ng Anthony can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
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.