Swot Analysis of "Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement" written by Patrick Henry, Susan S. Harmeling includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Scg529 Wolo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Scg529 Wolo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Scg529 Wolo 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Scg529 Wolo
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Scg529 Wolo
Strengths Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Scg529 Wolo in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Scg529 Wolo has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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.
Analytics focus
– Scg529 Wolo 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 Patrick Henry, Susan S. Harmeling 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Scg529 Wolo 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 Scg529 Wolo in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Scg529 Wolo in the sector have low bargaining power. Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Scg529 Wolo to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Scg529 Wolo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Scg529 Wolo
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Scg529 Wolo does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Scg529 Wolo is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Scg529 Wolo 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Scg529 Wolo is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Scg529 Wolo to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Scg529 Wolo to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Scg529 Wolo in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Scg529 Wolo has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Scg529 Wolo to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Scg529 Wolo is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Scg529 Wolo 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Scg529 Wolo products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Scg529 Wolo needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Scg529 Wolo has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Scg529 Wolo 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement, in the dynamic environment Scg529 Wolo has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Scg529 Wolo has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Scg529 Wolo supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Scg529 Wolo vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Scg529 Wolo 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Patrick Henry, Susan S. Harmeling suggests that, Scg529 Wolo 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement, is just above the industry average. Scg529 Wolo 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.
Opportunities Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement | 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement are -
Buying journey improvements
– Scg529 Wolo can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Scg529 Wolo in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Scg529 Wolo can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Scg529 Wolo 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Scg529 Wolo 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 Scg529 Wolo 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Scg529 Wolo can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Scg529 Wolo in the consumer business. Now Scg529 Wolo can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Scg529 Wolo 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Scg529 Wolo is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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.
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 Scg529 Wolo 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Scg529 Wolo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Scg529 Wolo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement case study. Scg529 Wolo 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, Scg529 Wolo 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Scg529 Wolo 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.
Threats Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement are -
Regulatory challenges
– Scg529 Wolo 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Scg529 Wolo 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Scg529 Wolo 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement .
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 Scg529 Wolo.
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. Scg529 Wolo needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Scg529 Wolo 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Scg529 Wolo 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Scg529 Wolo in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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
– Scg529 Wolo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Scg529 Wolo needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Scg529 Wolo 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 Scg529 Wolo is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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. Scg529 Wolo 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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 Wolo: The Highs and Lows of a Socially-Conscious Venture, Supplement 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 Scg529 Wolo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.