The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B)
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 B case provides a short summary of the final draft of Sarbanes-Oxley, the voting results in Congress, and the voting results in the congressional elections in November, 2002. This case is intended to be distributed toward the end of the class discussion and can be used to stimulate further reflection on the episode.
Swot Analysis of "The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B)" written by Robert F. Bruner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Voting Panic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) 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 (B) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B)
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 (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Voting Panic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Voting 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Voting 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 Voting Panic
Strengths The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Voting Panic in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Voting Panic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Voting Panic in the sector have low bargaining power. The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Voting Panic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Voting Panic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Voting Panic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Voting Panic 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 Voting Panic in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Voting 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Voting Panic is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Voting Panic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Voting Panic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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.
Analytics focus
– Voting Panic 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.
Training and development
– Voting 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Voting Panic 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 (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.
Learning organization
- Voting Panic 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 Voting Panic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) | 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 (B) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Voting 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. Voting 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Voting Panic 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.
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 Voting Panic supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Voting Panic vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert F. Bruner suggests that, Voting Panic 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Voting Panic 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Voting Panic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Voting Panic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Voting Panic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 Voting Panic 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B), is just above the industry average. Voting 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 Voting Panic, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 Voting Panic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Voting 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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) 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 (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) 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 Voting 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Voting 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Voting Panic in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Voting Panic 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 (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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Voting Panic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Voting Panic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Voting Panic 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 (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Voting Panic to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Voting Panic in the consumer business. Now Voting Panic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Voting Panic 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 (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Voting Panic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Voting 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Voting Panic can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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. Voting Panic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Voting Panic 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 Voting Panic to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (B) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Voting Panic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Voting 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 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Voting 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.
Increasing wage structure of Voting Panic
– 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 Voting Panic.
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 (B), Voting 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Voting Panic 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. Voting 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Voting Panic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Voting 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.
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 Voting Panic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Voting 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. Voting Panic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Voting Panic 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 (B) .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 2001 and Corporate Transparency, Accountability, and Trust (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 Voting Panic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.