Swot Analysis of "Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B)" written by Robert S. Kaplan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Indianapolis Costing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Costs, Economy, Government, International business, Supply chain and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Indianapolis Costing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Indianapolis Costing
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 Indianapolis Costing
Strengths Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Indianapolis Costing in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Indianapolis Costing in the sector have low bargaining power. Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Indianapolis Costing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Indianapolis Costing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Indianapolis Costing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Indianapolis Costing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Indianapolis Costing 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.
Analytics focus
– Indianapolis Costing 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 Robert S. Kaplan can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Indianapolis Costing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Indianapolis Costing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis Costing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Indianapolis Costing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Indianapolis Costing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Indianapolis Costing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Indianapolis Costing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Indianapolis Costing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Indianapolis Costing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) HBR case study mentions - Indianapolis Costing 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B), in the dynamic environment Indianapolis Costing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Indianapolis Costing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Indianapolis Costing has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Indianapolis Costing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Indianapolis Costing 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 - Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Indianapolis Costing has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Indianapolis Costing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Indianapolis Costing 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B), is just above the industry average. Indianapolis Costing 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis Costing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Indianapolis Costing, firm in the HBR case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Indianapolis Costing 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
– Indianapolis Costing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Indianapolis Costing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Indianapolis Costing in the consumer business. Now Indianapolis Costing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Indianapolis Costing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Indianapolis Costing 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Indianapolis Costing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Indianapolis Costing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) 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. Indianapolis Costing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Indianapolis Costing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Indianapolis Costing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Indianapolis Costing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) case study. Indianapolis Costing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Indianapolis Costing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Indianapolis Costing 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, Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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.
Threats Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B) .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Indianapolis Costing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Indianapolis Costing 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 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. Indianapolis Costing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Indianapolis Costing.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Indianapolis Costing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Indianapolis Costing 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.
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 Indianapolis Costing in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Indianapolis Costing
– 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 Indianapolis Costing.
Environmental challenges
– Indianapolis Costing 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. Indianapolis Costing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
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. Indianapolis Costing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (B), Indianapolis Costing 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Indianapolis Costing 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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (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 Indianapolis Costing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
