Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong
Kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and Towngas were the three major forms of heating fuels used in Hong Kong before 1980. Numerous accidents caused by the use of LPG that occurred in the years preceding 1981 prompted the government to commission a study on the safety aspects of gas, which resulted in strict regulations on LPG supply. Some argued that the safety regulation gave Towngas an unfair advantage over LPG and, hence, gave rise to Towngas' dominant position by the 1990s. But the government felt that there was sufficient competition and, therefore, no need for government intervention.
Authors :: Ka-Fu Wong, Richard Y.C. Wong, Andrew Lee
Swot Analysis of "Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong" written by Ka-Fu Wong, Richard Y.C. Wong, Andrew Lee includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Towngas Lpg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Health and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices,
geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Towngas Lpg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Towngas Lpg 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Towngas Lpg
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 Towngas Lpg
Strengths Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Towngas Lpg in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Towngas Lpg is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Towngas Lpg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Towngas Lpg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Towngas Lpg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Towngas Lpg is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Towngas Lpg digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Towngas Lpg 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Towngas Lpg in the sector have low bargaining power. Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Towngas Lpg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Towngas Lpg 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 Towngas Lpg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Towngas Lpg 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.
Organizational Resilience of Towngas Lpg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Towngas Lpg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Towngas Lpg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Towngas Lpg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Towngas Lpg 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 Towngas Lpg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Towngas Lpg is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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.
Weaknesses Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong are -
Need for greater diversity
– Towngas Lpg 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Towngas Lpg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Towngas Lpg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Towngas Lpg 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 - Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong HBR case study mentions - Towngas Lpg 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Towngas Lpg 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ka-Fu Wong, Richard Y.C. Wong, Andrew Lee suggests that, Towngas Lpg 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Towngas Lpg 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Towngas Lpg has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Towngas Lpg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Towngas Lpg 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Towngas Lpg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong | 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Towngas Lpg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Towngas Lpg 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 Towngas Lpg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Towngas Lpg 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.
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. Towngas Lpg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Towngas Lpg 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Towngas Lpg 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Towngas Lpg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Towngas Lpg in the consumer business. Now Towngas Lpg can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Towngas Lpg can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Towngas Lpg 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Towngas Lpg to increase its market reach. Towngas Lpg 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Towngas Lpg 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Towngas Lpg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Towngas Lpg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong case study. Towngas Lpg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Towngas Lpg 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.
Threats Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong are -
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. Towngas Lpg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Towngas Lpg 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Towngas Lpg 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Towngas Lpg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Towngas Lpg 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.
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 Towngas Lpg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Towngas Lpg 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Towngas Lpg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong, Towngas Lpg 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Towngas Lpg 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. Towngas Lpg can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Towngas Lpg 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.
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. Towngas Lpg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Towngas Lpg in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Safety Regulation and the Rise of Towngas in Hong Kong 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 Towngas Lpg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.