Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update
Briefly summarizes the events that transpired after the investment bank Salomon Brothers revealed that it had repeatedly violated the rules governing the auction of new U.S. Government securities. Includes a description of the violations, the management shake-up that occurred after the firm's August 8, 1991 announcements, the regulatory response to the violations, and the recovery of the firm under the direction of interim chairman, Warren Buffett.
Swot Analysis of "Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update" written by Dwight B. Crane, Patrick Moreton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Salomon Violations facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Ethics, Financial analysis, Financial markets, Regulation and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Salomon Violations, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Salomon Violations 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Salomon Violations
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 Salomon Violations
Strengths Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Salomon Violations in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Salomon Violations 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 Salomon Violations in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Salomon Violations has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Salomon Violations to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Salomon Violations is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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
- Salomon Violations 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 Salomon Violations is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Salomon Violations to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Salomon Violations to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Salomon Violations 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Salomon Violations 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Salomon Violations is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Salomon Violations 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 Dwight B. Crane, Patrick Moreton 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Salomon Violations 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
– Salomon Violations has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Salomon Violations 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.
Weaknesses Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Salomon Violations 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Salomon Violations 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update HBR case study mentions - Salomon Violations 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Salomon Violations 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Salomon Violations 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 - Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Salomon Violations products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Salomon Violations needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update, in the dynamic environment Salomon Violations has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Salomon Violations has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Salomon Violations 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update, it seems that the employees of Salomon Violations 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Salomon Violations 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Salomon Violations 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.
Opportunities Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update | 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update are -
Manufacturing automation
– Salomon Violations 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.
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 Salomon Violations in the consumer business. Now Salomon Violations can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Salomon Violations 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.
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. Salomon Violations 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. Salomon Violations 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Salomon Violations to increase its market reach. Salomon Violations will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Salomon Violations can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Salomon Violations 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.
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. Salomon Violations can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Salomon Violations 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 Salomon Violations to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Salomon Violations 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Salomon Violations to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Salomon Violations is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Salomon Violations can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Salomon Violations has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Salomon Violations to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update case study. Salomon Violations can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon Violations business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Salomon Violations 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Salomon Violations 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Salomon Violations 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update .
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. Salomon Violations can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Salomon Violations in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Salomon Violations 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Salomon Violations is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Salomon Violations 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Salomon Violations with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update, Salomon Violations 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 .
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 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. Salomon Violations needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update 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 Salomon Violations needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
