Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96
Provides a brief background on the history and structure of the steel industry in the United States. Focuses in some depth on the technological changes that have been difficult for the leading steel companies to implement. Shows that they stumbled when confronted with sustaining technologies, but may be destroyed by disruptive ones.
Swot Analysis of "Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96" written by Clayton M. Christensen, Bret Baird includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Steel Stumbled facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Steel Stumbled, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Steel Stumbled 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Steel Stumbled
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 Steel Stumbled
Strengths Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Steel Stumbled in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Steel Stumbled is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Steel Stumbled has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Steel Stumbled to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Steel Stumbled in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Steel Stumbled to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Steel Stumbled to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Steel Stumbled 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 Steel Stumbled is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Steel Stumbled 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Steel Stumbled 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.
Organizational Resilience of Steel Stumbled
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Steel Stumbled does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Steel Stumbled is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Steel Stumbled digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Steel Stumbled 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Steel Stumbled is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Steel Stumbled has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Steel Stumbled 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96, is just above the industry average. Steel Stumbled 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96, it seems that the employees of Steel Stumbled 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Steel Stumbled 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Steel Stumbled is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Steel Stumbled supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Steel Stumbled vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Steel Stumbled 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Steel Stumbled 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 - Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Steel Stumbled products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Steel Stumbled needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Steel Stumbled 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 HBR case study mentions - Steel Stumbled 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 | 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Steel Stumbled can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Steel Stumbled in the consumer business. Now Steel Stumbled can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Steel Stumbled 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 Steel Stumbled to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Steel Stumbled is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Steel Stumbled 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Steel Stumbled to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Steel Stumbled 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Steel Stumbled can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Steel Stumbled 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Steel Stumbled 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. Steel Stumbled can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Steel Stumbled can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Steel Stumbled has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Steel Stumbled to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 case study. Steel Stumbled can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Steel Stumbled can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Steel Stumbled operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Steel Stumbled 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.
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. Steel Stumbled can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Steel Stumbled 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.
Increasing wage structure of Steel Stumbled
– 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 Steel Stumbled.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Steel Stumbled with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Steel Stumbled 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96, Steel Stumbled 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 .
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.
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 Steel Stumbled business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Steel Stumbled is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Steel Stumbled 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. Steel Stumbled can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Steel Stumbled 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Trends in the United States Steel Market--1980-96 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 Steel Stumbled needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.