Swot Analysis of "Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3)" written by Luann J. Lynch, Jennifer Forman, Graham Gillam includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Handout Uv6911 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Assessing performance, Balanced scorecard and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Handout Uv6911, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Handout Uv6911 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Handout Uv6911
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 Handout Uv6911
Strengths Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Handout Uv6911 in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Handout Uv6911 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Handout Uv6911 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Handout Uv6911 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Handout Uv6911 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Handout Uv6911 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 Luann J. Lynch, Jennifer Forman, Graham Gillam 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Handout Uv6911 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Handout Uv6911 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Handout Uv6911 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 Handout Uv6911 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Handout Uv6911 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Handout Uv6911 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Handout Uv6911 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Handout Uv6911 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Handout Uv6911 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 Handout Uv6911 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Handout Uv6911 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3), is just above the industry average. Handout Uv6911 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Handout Uv6911 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Handout Uv6911 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Handout Uv6911 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3), in the dynamic environment Handout Uv6911 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Handout Uv6911 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Handout Uv6911 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Handout Uv6911 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Handout Uv6911 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Handout Uv6911 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3), it seems that the employees of Handout Uv6911 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Luann J. Lynch, Jennifer Forman, Graham Gillam suggests that, Handout Uv6911 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Handout Uv6911 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 - Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) | 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Handout Uv6911 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Handout Uv6911 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, Handout Uv6911 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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.
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. Handout Uv6911 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Handout Uv6911 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Handout Uv6911 to increase its market reach. Handout Uv6911 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Handout Uv6911 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Handout Uv6911 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) case study. Handout Uv6911 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Handout Uv6911 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Handout Uv6911 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.
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 Handout Uv6911 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Handout Uv6911 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 Handout Uv6911 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Handout Uv6911 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Handout Uv6911 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.
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 Handout Uv6911 in the consumer business. Now Handout Uv6911 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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. Handout Uv6911 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.
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. Handout Uv6911 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Handout Uv6911
– 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 Handout Uv6911.
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 Handout Uv6911 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Handout Uv6911 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
– Handout Uv6911 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.
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 Handout Uv6911 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Handout Uv6911 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Handout Uv6911 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Handout Uv6911 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Handout Uv6911.
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. Handout Uv6911 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Johansen's: The New Scorecard System-Corporate Finance Manager (Handout 3) 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 Handout Uv6911 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.