Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit
Regulation imposes compliance demands on business, but these controls by no means ensure that corporations will act ethically. Externally imposed controls by government or industry are prompts intended to move organizations to engage in a moral minimum. Such efforts are typically reactionary corrective measures, often crafted and applied after an ethical scandal occurs, and thereby offer limited effectiveness in providing systemic change. To provide insight on internally driven controls, this article examines how a newer form of monetized self-regulation, referred to as inverted moral markets, might be leveraged to motivate corporate ethical behavior. Inverted moral market (IMM) operations target firms suspected of unethical action, providing a type of market whistleblowing. Such activities are monetized through the sale of information to investors and by short selling. Rather than a desire to build moral strength, IMM firms are motivated by self-interest and profit. They can potentially 'do good' by imposing self-correction within the market, but without virtuous intent. We explore IMMs and the varied impacts their activities may have on the functioning of the overall market. We argue that a more balanced approach between internal and external regulation may enhance the environment for moral balance in a capitalist market system.
Swot Analysis of "Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit" written by Derek Stimel, Leslie E. Sekerka includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Moral Imm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Moral Imm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Moral Imm 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Moral Imm
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 Moral Imm
Strengths Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Moral Imm in Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Moral Imm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Moral Imm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Moral Imm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Moral Imm in the sector have low bargaining power. Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Moral Imm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Moral Imm 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.
Organizational Resilience of Moral Imm
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Moral Imm does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Moral Imm 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 Derek Stimel, Leslie E. Sekerka 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Moral Imm digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Moral Imm 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Moral Imm 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Moral Imm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Moral Imm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Moral Imm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Moral Imm 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.
Learning organization
- Moral Imm 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 Moral Imm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Moral Imm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Moral Imm, firm in the HBR case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Moral Imm has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Moral Imm even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Derek Stimel, Leslie E. Sekerka suggests that, Moral Imm 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Moral Imm 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Moral Imm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit, is just above the industry average. Moral Imm 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Moral Imm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Moral Imm 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Moral Imm 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit, in the dynamic environment Moral Imm has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Moral Imm has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit | 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Moral Imm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Moral Imm 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Moral Imm 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. Moral Imm 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Moral Imm 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.
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. Moral Imm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Moral Imm 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Moral Imm 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Moral Imm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Moral Imm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Moral Imm can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Moral Imm 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 Moral Imm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Moral Imm in the consumer business. Now Moral Imm can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Moral Imm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Moral Imm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit case study. Moral Imm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Moral Imm 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Moral Imm to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Moral Imm 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.
Environmental challenges
– Moral Imm 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. Moral Imm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Moral Imm 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Moral Imm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Moral Imm 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Moral Imm 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit, Moral Imm 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 Moral Imm
– 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 Moral Imm.
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 Moral Imm.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Moral Imm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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
– Moral Imm 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.
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. Moral Imm 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Play Fair! Innovating Internal Self-Regulation in the Market for Profit 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 Moral Imm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.