The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B)
Supplement to case UV7329. This follow-up to "The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (A)" (UVA-F-1781) explores how well the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 addressed the issues exposed by the panic of 1907, as well as providing further food for thought about financial reform.
Swot Analysis of "The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B)" written by Robert F. Bruner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 1907 Panic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Government and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 1907 Panic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 1907 Panic 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 1907 Panic
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 1907 Panic
Strengths The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 1907 Panic in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– 1907 Panic 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 1907 Panic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– 1907 Panic is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 1907 Panic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 1907 Panic has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 1907 Panic 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– 1907 Panic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 1907 Panic 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– 1907 Panic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 1907 Panic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 1907 Panic 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.
Strong track record of project management
– 1907 Panic is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 1907 Panic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 1907 Panic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 1907 Panic has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 1907 Panic 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. 1907 Panic 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of 1907 Panic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 1907 Panic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
1907 Panic has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 1907 Panic 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B), is just above the industry average. 1907 Panic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 1907 Panic, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 1907 Panic 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 1907 Panic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B), it seems that the employees of 1907 Panic 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though 1907 Panic 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 - The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) | 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 1907 Panic 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.
Loyalty marketing
– 1907 Panic 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.
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 1907 Panic 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 1907 Panic to increase its market reach. 1907 Panic 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 1907 Panic 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 1907 Panic 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 1907 Panic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 1907 Panic 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.
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 1907 Panic in the consumer business. Now 1907 Panic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– 1907 Panic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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.
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. 1907 Panic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 1907 Panic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 1907 Panic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) case study. 1907 Panic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 1907 Panic can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) are -
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. 1907 Panic 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
– 1907 Panic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 1907 Panic 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.
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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of 1907 Panic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 1907 Panic 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.
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. 1907 Panic 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 1907 Panic 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.
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 1907 Panic in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on 1907 Panic 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.
Regulatory challenges
– 1907 Panic 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
– 1907 Panic 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. 1907 Panic 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. 1907 Panic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B), 1907 Panic 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 The Panic of 1907 and the High Tide of Progressivism (B) 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 1907 Panic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.