Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules
This article applies the Biosphere Rules--a biomimicry-inspired management framework for circular economy initiatives--to the emerging field of additive manufacturing and three-dimensional (3D) Printing, which are revolutionizing industrial sectors from medical devices to spare parts. They are also potentially keys in the emergence of a true circular economy that will bring about environmentally sustainable manufacturing. This article lays out an established strategy that can guide managers and policy makers in pursuit of a cradle-to-cradle economy.
Swot Analysis of "Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules" written by Gregory Unruh includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Circular Biosphere facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sustainability, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Circular Biosphere, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Circular Biosphere
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 Circular Biosphere
Strengths Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Circular Biosphere in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Circular Biosphere has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Circular Biosphere to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Circular Biosphere is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Circular Biosphere in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Circular Biosphere is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Gregory Unruh can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Circular Biosphere 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Circular Biosphere digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Circular Biosphere 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Circular Biosphere 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Circular Biosphere is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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.
Weaknesses Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules, in the dynamic environment Circular Biosphere has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Circular Biosphere has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Circular Biosphere 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Circular Biosphere needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Circular Biosphere 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Circular Biosphere 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 - Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Circular Biosphere products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Circular Biosphere needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Circular Biosphere supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Circular Biosphere vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Circular Biosphere, firm in the HBR case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules, it seems that the employees of Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Biosphere has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Circular Biosphere is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules | 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Circular Biosphere 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Circular Biosphere can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Circular Biosphere 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
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 Circular Biosphere 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.
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 Circular Biosphere in the consumer business. Now Circular Biosphere 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, Circular Biosphere can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Circular Biosphere operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Circular Biosphere has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Circular Biosphere to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules case study. Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Circular Biosphere is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Circular Biosphere can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Circular Biosphere 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Circular Biosphere to increase its market reach. Circular Biosphere 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.
Threats Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Circular Biosphere is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Circular Biosphere 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Circular Biosphere 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. Circular Biosphere 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Circular Biosphere 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. Circular Biosphere can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Circular Biosphere in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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
– Circular Biosphere has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Circular Biosphere 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules, Circular Biosphere 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 Circular Biosphere
– 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 Circular Biosphere.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Economy, 3D Printing, and the Biosphere Rules 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 Circular Biosphere needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
