Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.Many Chinese firms have struggled in the United States. Renewable energy is a fledgling, high-risk market. Can Goldwind USA, a leading producer of wind turbines, overcome the odds? The case examines the many strategic choices Goldwind faced as it established its first major overseas subsidiary in Chicago: building a local team around a U.S. CEO; bridging cross-cultural differences among management; overcoming regulatory hurdles; sourcing from local suppliers; and facilitating turbine sales through innovative deal structures.
Swot Analysis of "Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas" written by Regina M. Abrami, Iacob Koch-Weser includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Goldwind Wind facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Financial management, Regulation, Supply chain, Technology and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices,
geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Goldwind Wind, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Goldwind Wind 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Goldwind Wind
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 Goldwind Wind
Strengths Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Goldwind Wind in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Goldwind Wind digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Goldwind Wind 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Goldwind Wind has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Goldwind Wind 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Goldwind Wind is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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.
Organizational Resilience of Goldwind Wind
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Goldwind Wind does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Goldwind Wind has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Learning organization
- Goldwind Wind 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 Goldwind Wind is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Goldwind Wind 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas - 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 Goldwind Wind 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.
High brand equity
– Goldwind Wind has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Goldwind Wind to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Goldwind Wind is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Goldwind Wind in the sector have low bargaining power. Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Goldwind Wind to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas are -
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 Goldwind Wind supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Goldwind Wind vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Goldwind Wind 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Goldwind Wind 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Goldwind Wind products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Goldwind Wind needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Goldwind Wind is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Goldwind Wind 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. Goldwind Wind 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Goldwind Wind, firm in the HBR case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, it seems that the employees of Goldwind Wind 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, is just above the industry average. Goldwind Wind 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Regina M. Abrami, Iacob Koch-Weser suggests that, Goldwind Wind 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.
Opportunities Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas | 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Goldwind Wind 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, Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Goldwind Wind 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Goldwind Wind has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Goldwind Wind to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas case study. Goldwind Wind can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Goldwind Wind 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 Goldwind Wind to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Goldwind Wind 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Goldwind Wind can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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.
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. Goldwind Wind 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. Goldwind Wind 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Goldwind Wind 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Goldwind Wind 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, Goldwind Wind is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Goldwind Wind to increase its market reach. Goldwind Wind 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.
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 Goldwind Wind 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Goldwind Wind 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Goldwind Wind can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Goldwind Wind operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Threats Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas are -
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. Goldwind Wind 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Goldwind Wind has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Goldwind Wind needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Goldwind Wind 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.
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. Goldwind Wind needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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.
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 Goldwind Wind.
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 Goldwind Wind in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Goldwind Wind
– 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 Goldwind Wind.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Goldwind Wind 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Goldwind Wind 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.
Environmental challenges
– Goldwind Wind 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. Goldwind Wind can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas, Goldwind Wind 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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 Goldwind USA: Chinese Wind in the Americas 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 Goldwind Wind needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
