The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A)
These cases are part of a module of teaching materials that study the major financial events of the first decade of the 2000s and the dramatic shift in civic attitudes that accompanied them. Cases on the so-called panic of 2001 address the start of the shift in 2001-02 (the complementary materials address the events of 2008 and beyond.) The substance of the A and B cases is the civic reaction to the dot-com crash of 2000 and the wave of corporate fraud cases exposed from 2000 to 2002. The A case reviews the dot-com crash, the collapse of Enron, other cases of corporate fraud, and the actions of the President, Congress, and other entities up to July 15, 2002. At that date, Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley agreed to meet in a conference to hash out the final draft of the bill to be named "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002." The dominant issue for the legislators (and for the students) is how tough to make the bill. The task for the student is to compare and contrast the respective bills and make a recommendation for a compromise. More broadly, the case affords the opportunity to reflect on the dynamics of financial crises and why it seems to be that frauds emerge during times of financial instability.
Swot Analysis of "The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A)" written by Robert F. Bruner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oxley Sarbanes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Financial management, Recession and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oxley Sarbanes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oxley Sarbanes 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oxley Sarbanes
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 Oxley Sarbanes
Strengths The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oxley Sarbanes in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Oxley Sarbanes 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 Oxley Sarbanes in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Oxley Sarbanes 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Oxley Sarbanes in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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
– Oxley Sarbanes is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Robert F. Bruner 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Oxley Sarbanes digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Oxley Sarbanes 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Oxley Sarbanes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Oxley Sarbanes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Oxley Sarbanes is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Oxley Sarbanes is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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.
High brand equity
– Oxley Sarbanes has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Oxley Sarbanes to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Oxley Sarbanes is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A), in the dynamic environment Oxley Sarbanes has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oxley Sarbanes has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A), it seems that the employees of Oxley Sarbanes 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 The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) HBR case study mentions - Oxley Sarbanes 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 The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A), 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Oxley Sarbanes 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, Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oxley Sarbanes is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Oxley Sarbanes 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) | 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Oxley Sarbanes can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Oxley Sarbanes can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Oxley Sarbanes can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Oxley Sarbanes is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Oxley Sarbanes to increase its market reach. Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Oxley Sarbanes has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Oxley Sarbanes to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) case study. Oxley Sarbanes can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Oxley Sarbanes can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oxley Sarbanes 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 Oxley Sarbanes to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Oxley Sarbanes 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 The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Oxley Sarbanes to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Oxley Sarbanes can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Threats The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oxley Sarbanes has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oxley Sarbanes 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.
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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A), Oxley Sarbanes 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Oxley Sarbanes
– 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 Oxley Sarbanes.
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 Oxley Sarbanes business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oxley Sarbanes 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 The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Oxley Sarbanes 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Oxley Sarbanes 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.
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. Oxley Sarbanes can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Oxley Sarbanes 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.
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. Oxley Sarbanes needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting 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. Oxley Sarbanes 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.
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 Oxley Sarbanes in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (A) 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 Oxley Sarbanes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.