The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B)
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth. Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dramatic regime shift in American politics. The rise of Whig politicians in reaction to the populist policies of Andrew Jackson marked 1837 as an historic pivot-point. It is useful to consider how the panic of 1837 contributed to that pivot and how the subsequent civic reaction to the panic developed. The B case presents draft legislation for an Independent Treasury and President Van Buren's message with which he aimed to open a special session of the U.S. Congress and enact the Independent Treasury proposal.
Swot Analysis of "The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B)" written by Robert F. Bruner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 1837 Panic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Recession and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 1837 Panic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 1837 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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 1837 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 1837 Panic
Strengths The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 1837 Panic in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– 1837 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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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.
High brand equity
– 1837 Panic has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 1837 Panic to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 1837 Panic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– 1837 Panic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 1837 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 1837 Panic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 1837 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 1837 Panic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 1837 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 1837 Panic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 1837 Panic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- 1837 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 1837 Panic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– 1837 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.
Innovation driven organization
– 1837 Panic is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B), is just above the industry average. 1837 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 1837 Panic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B), it seems that the employees of 1837 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 Panic 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 1837 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. 1837 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.
Need for greater diversity
– 1837 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 1837 Panic, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 Panic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of 1837 Panic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 1837 Panic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 1837 Panic is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) HBR case study mentions - 1837 Panic 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.
Opportunities The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 1837 Panic can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 1837 Panic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 1837 Panic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) case study. 1837 Panic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 1837 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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 1837 Panic to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 1837 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 1837 Panic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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. 1837 Panic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 1837 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 1837 Panic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 1837 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 1837 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 1837 Panic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 1837 Panic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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 1837 Panic in the consumer business. Now 1837 Panic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. 1837 Panic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B) are -
Regulatory challenges
– 1837 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.
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. 1837 Panic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 1837 Panic in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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.
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 1837 Panic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. 1837 Panic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. 1837 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 1837 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.
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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (B), 1837 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 .
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 1837 Panic.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 1837 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 1837 Panic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 1837 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (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 1837 Panic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
