Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives
How can a firm most effectively pursue environmental sustainability? Employs a systems dynamics approach to analyze two strategic environmental sustainability initiatives implemented by Norm Thompson Outfitters. Such an analysis provides a way to identify the key variables and their relationships, the roles of key stakeholders, and the leverage points used to support the sustainability initiatives. The experience of Norm Thompson demonstrates how using systems dynamics can assist a company in identifying and implementing environmental sustainability initiatives.
Swot Analysis of "Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives" written by R Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sustainability Initiatives facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sustainability Initiatives, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sustainability Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sustainability Initiatives
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 Sustainability Initiatives
Strengths Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sustainability Initiatives in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Sustainability Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Sustainability Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Sustainability Initiatives is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Sustainability Initiatives 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 R Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sustainability Initiatives
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sustainability Initiatives does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sustainability Initiatives is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sustainability Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sustainability Initiatives is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sustainability Initiatives in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Sustainability Initiatives is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sustainability Initiatives in the sector have low bargaining power. Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sustainability Initiatives to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives, it seems that the employees of Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sustainability Initiatives 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 - Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Sustainability Initiatives has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sustainability Initiatives 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, Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sustainability Initiatives is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sustainability Initiatives, firm in the HBR case study Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Sustainability Initiatives supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sustainability Initiatives vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, R Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown suggests that, Sustainability Initiatives is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sustainability Initiatives is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Sustainability Initiatives needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sustainability Initiatives to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives | 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sustainability Initiatives can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sustainability Initiatives operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sustainability Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives to increase its market reach. Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sustainability Initiatives is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sustainability Initiatives 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.
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 Sustainability Initiatives 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.
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 Sustainability Initiatives in the consumer business. Now Sustainability Initiatives can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Sustainability Initiatives 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
– Sustainability Initiatives can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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
– Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Threats Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sustainability Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives .
Environmental challenges
– Sustainability Initiatives 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. Sustainability Initiatives can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Sustainability Initiatives business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Sustainability Initiatives in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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. Sustainability Initiatives can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sustainability Initiatives has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sustainability Initiatives 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sustainability Initiatives
– 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 Sustainability Initiatives.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sustainability Initiatives is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sustainability Initiatives 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.
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. Sustainability Initiatives 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.
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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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 Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives 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 Sustainability Initiatives needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
