Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations require that producers organize and pay for treatment and recycling of waste arising from their products at end of life. EPR has been effective in implementing some aspects of circular economy. In Europe, 35% of e-waste and 65% of packaging waste have already been recycled (or reused in some cases). This article analyzes the challenges of implementing EPR and provides useful insights for what has worked well and what challenges remain. Identifying and addressing these challenges will be crucial for framing legislation that will move industry and society toward a more circular economy.
Authors :: Nathan Kunz, Kieren Mayers, Luk N. Van Wassenhove
Swot Analysis of "Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy" written by Nathan Kunz, Kieren Mayers, Luk N. Van Wassenhove includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Epr Circular facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, 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, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Epr Circular, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Epr Circular 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Epr Circular
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 Epr Circular
Strengths Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Epr Circular in Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Epr Circular in the sector have low bargaining power. Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Epr Circular to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Epr Circular 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Epr Circular to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Epr Circular to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Epr Circular in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Epr Circular has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Epr Circular has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Epr Circular digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Epr Circular 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Epr Circular is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Epr Circular 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 Epr Circular is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Epr Circular
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Epr Circular does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Epr Circular 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Epr Circular 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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.
Weaknesses Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Epr Circular is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Epr Circular 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Epr Circular 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Epr Circular 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Epr Circular 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy, is just above the industry average. Epr Circular 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nathan Kunz, Kieren Mayers, Luk N. Van Wassenhove suggests that, Epr Circular 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Epr Circular has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Epr Circular products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Epr Circular needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Epr Circular 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy HBR case study mentions - Epr Circular takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Opportunities Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy | 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Epr Circular can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Epr Circular operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Epr Circular can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Epr Circular can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Epr Circular 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Epr Circular 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Epr Circular to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Epr Circular 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Epr Circular is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Epr Circular in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Epr Circular in the consumer business. Now Epr Circular can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Epr Circular 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Epr Circular 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 Epr Circular 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, Epr Circular 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, Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Epr Circular has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Epr Circular to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy case study. Epr Circular can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy are -
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Epr Circular 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.
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 Epr Circular.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy, Epr Circular 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Epr Circular with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Epr Circular needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Epr Circular business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Epr Circular has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Epr Circular 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.
Environmental challenges
– Epr Circular 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. Epr Circular can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Epr Circular can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Epr Circular 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Epr Circular is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Epr Circular
– 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 Epr Circular.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Stakeholder Views on Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy 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 Epr Circular needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
