Swot Analysis of "Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B)" written by Diane-Laure Arjalies, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that W16607 Socially facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Collaboration, Financial management, Social responsibility and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the W16607 Socially, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which W16607 Socially 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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of W16607 Socially
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 W16607 Socially
Strengths Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of W16607 Socially in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– W16607 Socially has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled W16607 Socially to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the W16607 Socially 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.
Strong track record of project management
– W16607 Socially is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– W16607 Socially has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. W16607 Socially 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of W16607 Socially in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of W16607 Socially in the sector have low bargaining power. Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps W16607 Socially to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– W16607 Socially 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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– W16607 Socially 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 W16607 Socially in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– W16607 Socially 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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- W16607 Socially 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 W16607 Socially is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– W16607 Socially has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) 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.
Weaknesses Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) 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 W16607 Socially supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left W16607 Socially vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, W16607 Socially 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. W16607 Socially even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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.
Need for greater diversity
– W16607 Socially 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Diane-Laure Arjalies, Ken Mark suggests that, W16607 Socially 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as W16607 Socially is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) HBR case study mentions - W16607 Socially 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of W16607 Socially is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. W16607 Socially needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help W16607 Socially to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 W16607 Socially has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, W16607 Socially needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B), in the dynamic environment W16607 Socially has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. W16607 Socially has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– W16607 Socially 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, W16607 Socially can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that W16607 Socially operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help W16607 Socially to increase its market reach. W16607 Socially 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, W16607 Socially 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, Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 W16607 Socially has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help W16607 Socially to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) case study. W16607 Socially can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– W16607 Socially 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.
Manufacturing automation
– W16607 Socially 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– W16607 Socially 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, W16607 Socially 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– W16607 Socially 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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help W16607 Socially to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for W16607 Socially 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.
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. W16607 Socially can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 W16607 Socially 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.
Threats Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) are -
Increasing wage structure of W16607 Socially
– 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 W16607 Socially.
Consumer confidence and its impact on W16607 Socially 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.
Regulatory challenges
– W16607 Socially 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– W16607 Socially has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, W16607 Socially 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B), W16607 Socially 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 W16607 Socially with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 W16607 Socially in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, W16607 Socially 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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (B) .
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
– W16607 Socially 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. W16607 Socially can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– W16607 Socially 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that W16607 Socially is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 Socially Responsible Investment Funds in France: Regulations and Retail (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 W16607 Socially needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
