Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation
Greg Milani, Senior Managing Director of the Stanford Management Company, considers how much of Stanford's $27 billion endowment to allocate to early stage capital, taking into account the various pro's and con's of that allocation.
Swot Analysis of "Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation" written by John Glynn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stanford Milani facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Venture capital and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stanford Milani, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stanford Milani
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 Stanford Milani
Strengths Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stanford Milani in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Stanford Milani is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Stanford Milani digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Stanford Milani 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Stanford Milani is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Milani is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stanford Milani to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stanford Milani to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Stanford Milani is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Stanford Milani 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 John Glynn 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Stanford Milani 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Milani in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Milani in the sector have low bargaining power. Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Stanford Milani to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Stanford Milani has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Stanford Milani to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Milani has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Stanford Milani has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation HBR case study mentions - Stanford Milani 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation, is just above the industry average. Stanford Milani 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stanford Milani products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Milani supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Stanford Milani vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Stanford Milani is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Stanford Milani 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 - Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Stanford Milani 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stanford Milani 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, Stanford Milani has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation | 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation are -
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 Stanford Milani 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Milani to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Stanford Milani can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Stanford Milani 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Stanford Milani 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Stanford Milani can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stanford Milani 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, Stanford Milani is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Stanford Milani can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Stanford Milani can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stanford Milani operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Stanford Milani 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Stanford Milani has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Stanford Milani to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation case study. Stanford Milani can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Stanford Milani can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Stanford Milani can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation are -
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 Stanford Milani business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Stanford Milani needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stanford Milani 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.
Environmental challenges
– Stanford Milani 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. Stanford Milani can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Stanford Milani with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Stanford Milani
– 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 Stanford Milani.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Milani in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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 Stanford Milani in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation, Stanford Milani may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Stanford Milani.
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. Stanford Milani 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Management Company in 2017: Venture Capital and Other Asset Allocation 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 Stanford Milani needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
