Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version
The general manager of a local gasoline/distillate sales and distribution business unit must communicate a new strategy to the unit's 300 employees. An initial strategic planning exercise identified a high-priority list of opportunities that blended the parent division's national strategy with a customized, local strategy. But for the new strategy to be effective, the old measurement system, which stressed only sales volume and cost reduction, had to be replaced. The manager led the development of a local Balanced Scorecard (BSC), derived from the division scorecard (described in the (A) case). To communicate the critical features of the local BSC, the unit's senior managers established a Super Bowl competition in which all employees were challenged to achieve stretch targets on five BSC measures. This case describes the communication and management processes for the Super Bowl measures.
Swot Analysis of "Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version" written by Robert S. Kaplan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bsc Bowl facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Assessing performance, Balanced scorecard, Boards, Business processes, Financial analysis, Growth strategy, Motivating people, Sales, Strategic planning, Strategy execution and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bsc Bowl, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bsc Bowl 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bsc Bowl
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bsc Bowl
Strengths Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bsc Bowl in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bsc Bowl is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Bsc Bowl is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bsc Bowl in the sector have low bargaining power. Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bsc Bowl to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Bsc Bowl is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Bsc Bowl 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 Bsc Bowl in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bsc Bowl in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Organizational Resilience of Bsc Bowl
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bsc Bowl does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Bsc Bowl has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bsc Bowl to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Bsc Bowl is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Robert S. Kaplan can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Training and development
– Bsc Bowl has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bsc Bowl is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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.
Weaknesses Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Bsc Bowl has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bsc Bowl is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Bsc Bowl needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bsc Bowl to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bsc Bowl products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bsc Bowl needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bsc Bowl 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bsc Bowl 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bsc Bowl 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Bsc Bowl 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bsc Bowl 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Bsc Bowl has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bsc Bowl has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Bsc Bowl 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bsc Bowl, firm in the HBR case study Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version | 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bsc Bowl 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.
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 Bsc Bowl in the consumer business. Now Bsc Bowl can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bsc Bowl can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bsc Bowl 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bsc Bowl 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bsc Bowl to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bsc Bowl can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bsc Bowl can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bsc Bowl operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bsc Bowl 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. Bsc Bowl 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bsc Bowl 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, Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Bsc Bowl can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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.
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 Bsc Bowl 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.
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. Bsc Bowl can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bsc Bowl to increase its market reach. Bsc Bowl 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version, Bsc Bowl may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– Bsc Bowl 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bsc Bowl in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bsc Bowl 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bsc Bowl 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 Bsc Bowl in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Bsc Bowl business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Bsc Bowl
– 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 Bsc Bowl.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Bsc Bowl 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. Bsc Bowl can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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. Bsc Bowl needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bsc Bowl has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bsc Bowl needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution, Spanish Version 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 Bsc Bowl needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.