Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc.
Defense is big business, especially for companies like Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin, formed in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corp. and Martin Marietta, was one of the largest defense contractors in the world, employing about 140,000 worldwide. Lockheed Martin was considering the acquisition of NationScape, Inc., a firm that supports U.S. military readiness, diplomatic and development efforts, and peacekeeping, stabilization and nation building activities in more than 65 countries around the world. The acquisition could increase Lockheed Martin's overseas defense support operations and expand its capabilities to provide diplomatic and development services to complement its existing defense business. The corporation needed to determine an appropriate price for the acquisition and evaluate whether the acquisition would be a good strategic and cultural fit for the corporation as well.
Swot Analysis of "Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc." written by Susan A. White includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lockheed Martin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lockheed Martin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lockheed Martin
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 Lockheed Martin
Strengths Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lockheed Martin in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Lockheed Martin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lockheed Martin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lockheed Martin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Lockheed Martin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lockheed Martin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lockheed Martin has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lockheed Martin 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Lockheed Martin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lockheed Martin in the sector have low bargaining power. Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lockheed Martin to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lockheed Martin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lockheed Martin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lockheed Martin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lockheed Martin digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lockheed Martin 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.
Weaknesses Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lockheed Martin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Lockheed Martin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lockheed Martin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lockheed Martin 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. Lockheed Martin 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lockheed Martin 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lockheed Martin 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 - Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lockheed Martin 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc., 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc., it seems that the employees of Lockheed Martin 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 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 Lockheed Martin supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lockheed Martin vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lockheed Martin has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Susan A. White suggests that, Lockheed Martin 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. | 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lockheed Martin 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lockheed Martin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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
– Lockheed Martin 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lockheed Martin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Lockheed Martin 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Lockheed Martin 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.
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 Lockheed Martin 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lockheed Martin 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lockheed Martin 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lockheed Martin 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, Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Lockheed Martin can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lockheed Martin can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lockheed Martin operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Threats Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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. Lockheed Martin 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lockheed Martin 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.
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 Lockheed Martin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lockheed Martin is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lockheed Martin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lockheed Martin 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lockheed Martin 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.
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.
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 Lockheed Martin in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Lockheed Martin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Lockheed Martin 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. Lockheed Martin can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin's Acquisition of NationScape, Inc. 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 Lockheed Martin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
