Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged)
Describes the reorganization of the Systems Development resource from Central MIS to the divisions. Whereas this had been planned for October 1990, unexpected senior management changes precipitated a request to reorganize 12 to 18 months ahead of schedule. Also describes a decision that must be made whether or not to centralize all mainframe processing--even that which had been handled by the London data center--in the Allentown data center. A rewritten version of two earlier cases.
Swot Analysis of "Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged)" written by Donna B. Stoddard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mis Reorganization facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational structure and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mis Reorganization, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mis Reorganization 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mis Reorganization
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 Mis Reorganization
Strengths Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mis Reorganization in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mis Reorganization has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mis Reorganization in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Mis Reorganization is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Mis Reorganization is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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
– Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mis Reorganization to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mis Reorganization to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mis Reorganization is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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.
Learning organization
- Mis Reorganization 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 Mis Reorganization is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mis Reorganization has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mis Reorganization 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mis Reorganization digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mis Reorganization 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 recruit top talent
– Mis Reorganization is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Mis Reorganization has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mis Reorganization to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Mis Reorganization has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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.
Weaknesses Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mis Reorganization 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mis Reorganization is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Mis Reorganization 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Mis Reorganization 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Donna B. Stoddard suggests that, Mis Reorganization 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged), 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mis Reorganization, firm in the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Mis Reorganization 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Mis Reorganization 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mis Reorganization needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged), is just above the industry average. Mis Reorganization needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) | 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mis Reorganization 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 Mis Reorganization to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Mis Reorganization 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mis Reorganization is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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.
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. Mis Reorganization can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mis Reorganization can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Mis Reorganization can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
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 Mis Reorganization in the consumer business. Now Mis Reorganization can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Mis Reorganization can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mis Reorganization 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mis Reorganization 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
– Mis Reorganization 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mis Reorganization to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mis Reorganization can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mis Reorganization operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 Mis Reorganization 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mis Reorganization to increase its market reach. Mis Reorganization 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) are -
Increasing wage structure of Mis Reorganization
– 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 Mis Reorganization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mis Reorganization 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.
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 Mis Reorganization in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mis Reorganization 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Mis Reorganization 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged), Mis Reorganization 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 .
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 Mis Reorganization business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mis Reorganization 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) .
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. Mis Reorganization can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Mis Reorganization.
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. Mis Reorganization 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mis Reorganization 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mis Reorganization 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) & Project ICON (A) (Abridged) 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 Mis Reorganization needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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