Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry
Gives an account of how a ship management company was able to set itself apart from competitors and from its clients' own in-house technical and crew management capabilities by embracing a culture of continuous improvement and implementing Total Quality Management systems. The shipping industry was not alone in being regulated, but its distinctly international nature made ship managers, as cost-cutting practitioners, particularly open to criticism. A ship management company's very existence hinged upon its ability to convince ship owners that it would preserve their valuable assets and maximize revenue-earning potential--demonstrating that its collective skills were superior and more cost effective. As a result, an effective quality assurance system that continuously improved the organization's human and business systems could enhance efficiency and have a significant marketing impact.
Swot Analysis of "Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry" written by Ali Farhoomand, Amir Hoosain includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ship Shipping facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, International business, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices,
increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ship Shipping, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ship Shipping
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 Ship Shipping
Strengths Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ship Shipping in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Ship Shipping is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ship Shipping 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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.
Analytics focus
– Ship Shipping 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 Ali Farhoomand, Amir Hoosain 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.
High brand equity
– Ship Shipping has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ship Shipping to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ship Shipping is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ship Shipping 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ship Shipping in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Ship Shipping has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Ship Shipping 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ship Shipping is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, is just above the industry average. Ship Shipping 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ship Shipping 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 - Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Ship Shipping supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ship Shipping vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, it seems that the employees of Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry HBR case study mentions - Ship Shipping 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, in the dynamic environment Ship Shipping has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ship Shipping has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ship Shipping, firm in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -
Buying journey improvements
– Ship Shipping can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ship Shipping has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ship Shipping to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry case study. Ship Shipping 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, Ship Shipping can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ship Shipping operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Ship Shipping 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ship Shipping to increase its market reach. Ship Shipping 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.
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. Ship Shipping can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ship Shipping can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Technology & Operations segment.
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 Ship Shipping 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ship Shipping 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ship Shipping 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ship Shipping to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ship Shipping can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ship Shipping 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.
Environmental challenges
– Ship Shipping 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. Ship Shipping can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ship Shipping has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ship Shipping needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing wage structure of Ship Shipping
– 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 Ship Shipping.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ship Shipping 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.
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. Ship Shipping can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping 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. Ship Shipping needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Ship Shipping 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ship Shipping is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ship Shipping 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ship Shipping 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ship Shipping 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Ship Shipping needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.