Swot Analysis of "Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B)" written by Nien-he Hsieh, Victor Wu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 317113 Boycotts facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Crisis management, Customers, Diversity, Policy, Public relations, Regulation, Risk management, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 317113 Boycotts, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 317113 Boycotts 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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 317113 Boycotts
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of 317113 Boycotts
Strengths Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 317113 Boycotts in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 317113 Boycotts digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 317113 Boycotts 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.
Learning organization
- 317113 Boycotts 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 317113 Boycotts is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 317113 Boycotts 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.
Strong track record of project management
– 317113 Boycotts is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– 317113 Boycotts is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that 317113 Boycotts has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Organizational Resilience of 317113 Boycotts
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 317113 Boycotts does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 317113 Boycotts to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 317113 Boycotts to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 317113 Boycotts 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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 317113 Boycotts 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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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.
High brand equity
– 317113 Boycotts has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 317113 Boycotts to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 317113 Boycotts has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 317113 Boycotts 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.
Weaknesses Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 317113 Boycotts 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. 317113 Boycotts 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 317113 Boycotts 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 317113 Boycotts has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nien-he Hsieh, Victor Wu suggests that, 317113 Boycotts 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 317113 Boycotts is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 317113 Boycotts, firm in the HBR case study Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– 317113 Boycotts 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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B), in the dynamic environment 317113 Boycotts has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 317113 Boycotts has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 317113 Boycotts 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B), it seems that the employees of 317113 Boycotts 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 317113 Boycotts 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 - Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 317113 Boycotts has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 317113 Boycotts to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) case study. 317113 Boycotts can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 317113 Boycotts 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 317113 Boycotts can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. 317113 Boycotts can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Developing new processes and practices
– 317113 Boycotts can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 317113 Boycotts 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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 317113 Boycotts to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 317113 Boycotts can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 317113 Boycotts 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, Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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.
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 317113 Boycotts 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 Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. 317113 Boycotts can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– 317113 Boycotts can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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
– 317113 Boycotts can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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.
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 317113 Boycotts in the consumer business. Now 317113 Boycotts can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 317113 Boycotts in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 317113 Boycotts with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B), 317113 Boycotts may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing wage structure of 317113 Boycotts
– 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 317113 Boycotts.
Regulatory challenges
– 317113 Boycotts 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– 317113 Boycotts 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. 317113 Boycotts can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People 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. 317113 Boycotts needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on 317113 Boycotts 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 317113 Boycotts has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 317113 Boycotts needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 317113 Boycotts in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. 317113 Boycotts 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.
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.
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 317113 Boycotts.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 317113 Boycotts can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (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 317113 Boycotts needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.