The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
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Case Study Description of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights
Banking is an international business; both information and capital flow relatively unimpeded across international borders. Banking institutions' information stores have increased dramatically with the spread of computers, and these institutions protect data inside their firewalls from outside eyes, and from disaster, through establishing multiple secure data repositories. However, access to banks' databases is increasingly sought by governments and governance institutions, and restrictions are tightening on moving data across borders. Probably the most prominent example of both trends involves European Union-domiciled cross-border banking business. A key legal reason for resulting issues hinges on differing views of privacy rights: the European Union enshrines privacy as a human right, while the United States empowers rights of free speech over privacy. These differing approaches to privacy rights have caused a cross-Atlantic conflict for global banks. Caught between competing, conflicting regulations, banks' capacity to move information and to comply with governments' demands for it have become restricted. This restriction is happening as governments seek increased access to banks' information for purposes of financial information statecraft--the notion that countries can influence other governments' policies and actions through data.
Swot Analysis of "The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights" written by Travis W. Selmier II, Michelle Frasher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Privacy Governments facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Privacy Governments, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Privacy Governments 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Privacy Governments
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 Privacy Governments
Strengths The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Privacy Governments in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Privacy Governments has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Privacy Governments to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Privacy Governments digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Privacy Governments 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.
Analytics focus
– Privacy Governments 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 Travis W. Selmier II, Michelle Frasher 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Privacy Governments 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Privacy Governments to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Privacy Governments to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Privacy Governments 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 Privacy Governments in the sector have low bargaining power. The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Privacy Governments to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Privacy Governments is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Privacy Governments is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Privacy Governments is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Privacy Governments 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.
Organizational Resilience of Privacy Governments
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Privacy Governments does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Privacy Governments vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Privacy Governments 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Privacy Governments is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Privacy Governments needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Privacy Governments to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Privacy Governments 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Privacy Governments is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Privacy Governments 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Privacy Governments 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.
Opportunities The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Privacy Governments 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Privacy Governments 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Privacy Governments 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Privacy Governments can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Privacy Governments 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Privacy Governments has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Privacy Governments to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study. Privacy Governments can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Privacy Governments 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Privacy Governments 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 Privacy Governments to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Privacy Governments can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Privacy Governments operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Privacy Governments is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Privacy Governments 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Privacy Governments can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Privacy Governments 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.
Threats The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Privacy Governments 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Privacy Governments
– 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 Privacy Governments.
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. Privacy Governments can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Privacy Governments.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Privacy Governments is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Privacy Governments 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Privacy Governments 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.