Water Markets from an Economic Point of View SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Water Markets from an Economic Point of View
Recent droughts and the increase in food prices they trigger underscore that freshwater scarcity is bound to be a major challenge of the 21st century. Increased water demand due to population growth and rising living standards (with changing diets and lifestyles) strains available water resources. In spite of reports about an imminent water crisis, the world is not running out of water. Water is a renewable global resource of which there is more than enough. The major concern is that water is very unevenly distributed across and within countries. Water scarcity is thus primarily a local phenomenon, and fears mount that climate change might worsen an already bad situation in water-scarce areas.
Swot Analysis of "Water Markets from an Economic Point of View" written by Peter Debaere includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Water Scarcity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Water Markets from an Economic Point of View casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Water Markets from an Economic Point of View
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Water Scarcity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Water Scarcity 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Water Scarcity
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 Water Scarcity
Strengths Water Markets from an Economic Point of View | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Water Scarcity in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Water Scarcity 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
– Water Scarcity is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Water Scarcity 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.
High brand equity
– Water Scarcity has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Water Scarcity to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Water Scarcity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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.
Organizational Resilience of Water Scarcity
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Water Scarcity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Water Scarcity is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Water Scarcity 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Water Scarcity has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Water Scarcity has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Water Scarcity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Water Scarcity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Water Markets from an Economic Point of View are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Water Scarcity 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 Water Scarcity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Water Markets from an Economic Point of View Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Water Markets from an Economic Point of View | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Water Markets from an Economic Point of View are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Water Scarcity 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 - Water Markets from an Economic Point of View should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Water Scarcity is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Debaere suggests that, Water Scarcity 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Water Scarcity, firm in the HBR case study Water Markets from an Economic Point of View needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Water Scarcity 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Water Scarcity 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. Water Scarcity 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
– Water Scarcity has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Water Scarcity 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Water Scarcity 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 Water Scarcity products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Water Scarcity needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Water Scarcity is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Water Scarcity needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Water Scarcity to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Water Markets from an Economic Point of View | 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Water Scarcity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Water Scarcity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Water Scarcity 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Water Scarcity is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Water Scarcity 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 Global Business segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Water Scarcity to increase its market reach. Water Scarcity 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Water Scarcity in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Water Scarcity 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Water Scarcity 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 Water Scarcity in the consumer business. Now Water Scarcity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Water Scarcity 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
– Water Scarcity 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Water Scarcity 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 Water Scarcity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Water Scarcity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Water Markets from an Economic Point of View case study. Water Scarcity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Water Scarcity 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.
Threats Water Markets from an Economic Point of View External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Water Markets from an Economic Point of View are -
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 Water Scarcity in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline 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.
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 Water Scarcity.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Water Scarcity 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View .
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. Water Scarcity needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Water Markets from an Economic Point of View, Water Scarcity 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Water Scarcity with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Water Scarcity 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. Water Scarcity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Water Scarcity 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Water Scarcity 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Water Scarcity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Water Scarcity is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Water Scarcity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Water Scarcity 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Markets from an Economic Point of View 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 Water Scarcity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
