Swot Analysis of "The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B)" written by Chuck Grace includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that W14754 Ombudsman facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the W14754 Ombudsman, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which W14754 Ombudsman 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of W14754 Ombudsman
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 W14754 Ombudsman
Strengths The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of W14754 Ombudsman in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of W14754 Ombudsman in the sector have low bargaining power. The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps W14754 Ombudsman to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– W14754 Ombudsman is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of W14754 Ombudsman in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– W14754 Ombudsman 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled W14754 Ombudsman to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped W14754 Ombudsman to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of W14754 Ombudsman
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that W14754 Ombudsman does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– W14754 Ombudsman is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– W14754 Ombudsman 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– W14754 Ombudsman is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– W14754 Ombudsman is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- W14754 Ombudsman 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 W14754 Ombudsman is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though W14754 Ombudsman 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 - The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 W14754 Ombudsman has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, W14754 Ombudsman 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 W14754 Ombudsman 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B), it seems that the employees of W14754 Ombudsman don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as W14754 Ombudsman is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Chuck Grace suggests that, W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, W14754 Ombudsman 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. W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B), in the dynamic environment W14754 Ombudsman has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. W14754 Ombudsman has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) | 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) are -
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 W14754 Ombudsman in the consumer business. Now W14754 Ombudsman can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, W14754 Ombudsman 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, The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B), 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 W14754 Ombudsman has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help W14754 Ombudsman to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) case study. W14754 Ombudsman can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. W14754 Ombudsman can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for W14754 Ombudsman in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at W14754 Ombudsman 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Manufacturing automation
– W14754 Ombudsman can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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 W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Buying journey improvements
– W14754 Ombudsman can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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
– W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, W14754 Ombudsman can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that W14754 Ombudsman operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for W14754 Ombudsman 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 W14754 Ombudsman to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– W14754 Ombudsman 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. W14754 Ombudsman can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that W14754 Ombudsman is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. W14754 Ombudsman 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– W14754 Ombudsman 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. W14754 Ombudsman can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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. W14754 Ombudsman needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B), W14754 Ombudsman 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents W14754 Ombudsman with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– W14754 Ombudsman 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on W14754 Ombudsman 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.
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 W14754 Ombudsman.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– W14754 Ombudsman 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 The Ombudsman: Examining Portfolio Risk in Troubled Times (B) 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 W14754 Ombudsman needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
