The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'?
On 27 July 2016, Swiber Holdings Limited, a Singapore Exchange-listed provider of offshore engineering, procurement, installation and construction services for oil and gas companies, filed for voluntary liquidation. Two days later, Swiber withdrew the liquidation application and filed for judicial management instead. Swiber's actions shocked its stakeholders and the market. Its total notes payable was about US$437 million as of 27 July 2016; its debts owed to suppliers and subcontractors were about US$264 million as of 31 May 2016. In contrast, Swiber's market capitalization had shrunk to about US$37 million at the close of 27 July 2016. This case chronicles the rise and fall of Swiber's fortunes, describes the company's financing strategy through the years, and discusses the warning signs that heralded the company's collapse during the prolonged downturn in the oil and gas industry.
Swot Analysis of "The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'?" written by Kim Wai Ho, Shirley Koh, Yin Kheng Lau includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Swiber Swiber's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Financial management, Strategy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Swiber Swiber's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Swiber Swiber's 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Swiber Swiber's
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 Swiber Swiber's
Strengths The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Swiber Swiber's in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Swiber Swiber's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Swiber Swiber's 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 Swiber Swiber's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Swiber Swiber's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Swiber Swiber's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Swiber Swiber's 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Swiber Swiber's 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Swiber Swiber's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Swiber Swiber's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Swiber Swiber's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Swiber Swiber's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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
– Swiber Swiber's 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Swiber Swiber's in the sector have low bargaining power. The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Swiber Swiber's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Swiber Swiber's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Swiber Swiber's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Swiber Swiber's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'?, it seems that the employees of Swiber Swiber's 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Swiber Swiber's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Swiber Swiber's 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Swiber Swiber's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Swiber Swiber's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Swiber Swiber's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Swiber Swiber's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Swiber Swiber's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? HBR case study mentions - Swiber Swiber's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Swiber Swiber's 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. Swiber Swiber's 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kim Wai Ho, Shirley Koh, Yin Kheng Lau suggests that, Swiber Swiber's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Swiber Swiber's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? | 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Swiber Swiber's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Swiber Swiber's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Swiber Swiber's 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.
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. Swiber Swiber's 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 Swiber Swiber's 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 Swiber Swiber's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Swiber Swiber's 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Swiber Swiber's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Swiber Swiber's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Swiber Swiber's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Swiber Swiber's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? case study. Swiber Swiber's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Swiber Swiber's 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.
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. Swiber Swiber's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Swiber Swiber's to increase its market reach. Swiber Swiber's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Swiber Swiber's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Threats The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? are -
Regulatory challenges
– Swiber Swiber's 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.
Increasing wage structure of Swiber Swiber's
– 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 Swiber Swiber's.
Environmental challenges
– Swiber Swiber's 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. Swiber Swiber's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
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 Swiber Swiber's in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Swiber Swiber's.
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 Swiber Swiber's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Swiber Swiber's is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Swiber Swiber's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Swiber Swiber's 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Swiber Swiber's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Swiber Swiber's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Swiber Swiber's 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? .
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. Swiber Swiber's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Sinking of Swiber: 'Cause No Harm'? 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 Swiber Swiber's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
