FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming
In early January 2016, FinSAS Financial Research Inc. needed to recruit more programmers because of its rapid growth. However, the average annual salary for financial programmers had been increasing significantly. The financial research company decided that it needed advice from a "programming strategist" from the software engineering industry. The company contacted such a strategist to build a reusable module for use by all company programmers, to avoid coding the same functionality over and over. FinSAS provided access to some of its programs and asked the strategist to prepare a proposal for the project. Would the strategist's proposal meet the needs of FinSAS and its programmers?
Swot Analysis of "FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming" written by Zhichuan Frank Li includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Finsas Programmers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Data, Financial management, Financial markets and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Finsas Programmers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Finsas Programmers 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Finsas Programmers
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 Finsas Programmers
Strengths FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Finsas Programmers in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Finsas Programmers 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Finsas Programmers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Finsas Programmers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Finsas Programmers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Finsas Programmers 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Finsas Programmers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Finsas Programmers 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Finsas Programmers 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Finsas Programmers in the sector have low bargaining power. FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Finsas Programmers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Finsas Programmers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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.
Organizational Resilience of Finsas Programmers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Finsas Programmers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Finsas Programmers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Finsas Programmers 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 Finsas Programmers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, in the dynamic environment Finsas Programmers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Finsas Programmers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Finsas Programmers 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 - FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 Finsas Programmers 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, is just above the industry average. Finsas Programmers 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Finsas Programmers 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming HBR case study mentions - Finsas Programmers 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Finsas Programmers 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. Finsas Programmers 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, it seems that the employees of Finsas Programmers 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Finsas Programmers 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 Finsas Programmers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Finsas Programmers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming | 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 Finsas Programmers 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Finsas Programmers 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Finsas Programmers 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 Finsas Programmers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Finsas Programmers can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Finsas Programmers to increase its market reach. Finsas Programmers 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Finsas Programmers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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.
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. Finsas Programmers 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. Finsas Programmers 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Finsas Programmers 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Finsas Programmers 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Finsas Programmers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Finsas Programmers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Finsas Programmers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Finsas Programmers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming case study. Finsas Programmers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Finsas Programmers in the consumer business. Now Finsas Programmers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Finsas Programmers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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.
Threats FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 Finsas Programmers in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Finsas Programmers
– 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 Finsas Programmers.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Finsas Programmers 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Finsas Programmers 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming, Finsas Programmers 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Finsas Programmers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Finsas Programmers 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.
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 Finsas Programmers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Finsas Programmers 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.
Environmental challenges
– Finsas Programmers 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. Finsas Programmers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Finsas Programmers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Finsas Programmers 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Finsas Programmers can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 FinSAS Financial Research: Financial Data and SAS Programming 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 Finsas Programmers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.