Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4
Describes the position of Utility #4 in negotiating Group B with respect to 1) its SO emissions reduction requirements; 2) the costs of its alternative compliance strategies; and 3) the nature of its state regulatory environment.
Swot Analysis of "Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4" written by Willis Emmons includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Utility 4 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Negotiations, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Utility 4, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Utility 4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Utility 4
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 Utility 4
Strengths Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Utility 4 in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Utility 4 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 Utility 4 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Utility 4 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 Utility 4 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Utility 4 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Utility 4 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Utility 4 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Utility 4 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Utility 4 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Utility 4 in the sector have low bargaining power. Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Utility 4 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Utility 4 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Utility 4 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Utility 4 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 Willis Emmons 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Utility 4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Utility 4 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Utility 4 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Utility 4 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 - Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Utility 4 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. Utility 4 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Utility 4 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Utility 4 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Utility 4, firm in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Utility 4 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Utility 4 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Utility 4 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Utility 4 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 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 Utility 4 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Utility 4 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Utility 4 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4, is just above the industry average. Utility 4 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.
Opportunities Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 | 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Utility 4 to increase its market reach. Utility 4 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Utility 4 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Utility 4 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.
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. Utility 4 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. Utility 4 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Utility 4 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Utility 4 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 case study. Utility 4 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Utility 4 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Utility 4 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Utility 4 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 Utility 4 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Utility 4 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Utility 4 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Utility 4 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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 Utility 4 in the consumer business. Now Utility 4 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Utility 4 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Utility 4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Utility 4 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Utility 4 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.
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 Utility 4 in the Global Business 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. Utility 4 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Utility 4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Utility 4 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Utility 4 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. Utility 4 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Utility 4 is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Utility 4 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
– Utility 4 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Utility 4 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.
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. Utility 4 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Utility 4 can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Utility 4 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #4 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 Utility 4 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
