The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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 (C)
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 C case describes the failures to enact the proposal in 1837, 1838, and 1839-ultimately the proposal was enacted in 1840. The case also describes other civic reactions: a new Bankruptcy Act and state-level "free banking" laws. Finally, the case describes the economic aftermath: another panic in 1839 and a long depression that ensued.
Swot Analysis of "The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C)" 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 (C) 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 (C) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C)
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 (C) 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 (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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 (C) | 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 (C) 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 (C) 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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.
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 (C) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 1837 Panic has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of 1837 Panic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 1837 Panic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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 (C) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 1837 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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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 (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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.
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.
Weaknesses The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) | 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 (C) are -
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 (C) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert F. Bruner suggests that, 1837 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 1837 Panic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. 1837 Panic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 1837 Panic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 (C) 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 1837 Panic 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C), 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 1837 Panic has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 1837 Panic has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) | 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 (C) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 1837 Panic to increase its market reach. 1837 Panic will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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 1837 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.
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 (C) 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 1837 Panic 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. 1837 Panic 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
– 1837 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.
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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for 1837 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 1837 Panic to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
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 (C) 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.
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 (C) case study. 1837 Panic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
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.
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.
Threats The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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 (C) are -
Environmental challenges
– 1837 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. 1837 Panic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 1837 Panic high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 1837 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 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) .
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.
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.
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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 1837 Panic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on 1837 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Panic of 1837 and the Market Revolution in America (C) 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 (C) 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 (C) 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 (C) 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 (C) 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.