Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students

As the dynamic global business environment continues to force organizations to be agile and adaptive, international business (IB) education pedagogy is transforming. Building on previous literature describing gaps in IB pedagogy, as well as unaddressed stakeholder needs, we first use our institution-the United States Air Force Academy-as an example of IB program development. In examining our program's evolution, we develop five questions that may provide insight regarding more generalizable IB pedagogy trends. To assess this possible generalizability, we explore questions related to the development of our program using self-reported, publically-available websites of the top full-time MBA programs throughout the United States. Our questions focus on the role of foreign languages, study abroad opportunities, integrative courses, capstone/thesis projects, and faculty development. Our exploration indicates that these five questions are important not only for educators developing future programs, but also for students examining potential IB programs. Additionally, our research examines a sixth question focused on the development of competitive positioning and program differentiation in IB programs. We hope to motivate future inquiry into IB pedagogy, which could inform more effective means of improving IB education.

Authors :: John A. Martin, Kurt A. Heppard, Green G. Steve

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: , SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students" written by John A. Martin, Kurt A. Heppard, Green G. Steve includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ib Pedagogy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ib Pedagogy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ib Pedagogy 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ib Pedagogy
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ib Pedagogy

---

Strengths Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ib Pedagogy in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students Harvard Business Review case study are -

Learning organization

- Ib Pedagogy 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 Ib Pedagogy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Ib Pedagogy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Analytics focus

– Ib Pedagogy 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 John A. Martin, Kurt A. Heppard, Green G. Steve 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ib Pedagogy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ib Pedagogy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Ib Pedagogy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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.

High brand equity

– Ib Pedagogy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ib Pedagogy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Ib Pedagogy

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ib Pedagogy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Ib Pedagogy 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ib Pedagogy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Ib Pedagogy 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Ib Pedagogy 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Ib Pedagogy 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 Ib Pedagogy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

---

---

Weaknesses Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students, is just above the industry average. Ib Pedagogy 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ib Pedagogy needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Ib Pedagogy 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students HBR case study mentions - Ib Pedagogy 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.

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 Ib Pedagogy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ib Pedagogy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Ib Pedagogy, firm in the HBR case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ib Pedagogy is planning to shift buying processes online.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ib Pedagogy 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Ib Pedagogy products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ib Pedagogy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Need for greater diversity

– Ib Pedagogy 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.

---

Opportunities Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students | 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ib Pedagogy 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.

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 Ib Pedagogy in the consumer business. Now Ib Pedagogy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ib Pedagogy can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Ib Pedagogy can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ib Pedagogy 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, Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Buying journey improvements

– Ib Pedagogy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ib Pedagogy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ib Pedagogy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students case study. Ib Pedagogy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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. Ib Pedagogy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ib Pedagogy 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 Ib Pedagogy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Manufacturing automation

– Ib Pedagogy can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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

– Ib Pedagogy can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Ib Pedagogy 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ib Pedagogy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ib Pedagogy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ib Pedagogy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.

---

Threats Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Ib Pedagogy 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students, Ib Pedagogy may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .

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 Ib Pedagogy.

Environmental challenges

– Ib Pedagogy 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. Ib Pedagogy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ib Pedagogy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing wage structure of Ib Pedagogy

– 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 Ib Pedagogy.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Ib Pedagogy is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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.

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 Ib Pedagogy in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Ib Pedagogy 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

– Ib Pedagogy 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 Global Business industry regulations.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ib Pedagogy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ib Pedagogy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Taking International Business Education Programs and Pedagogy to New Heights: Fundamental Questions for Educators and Students 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 Ib Pedagogy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---