Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, Utility #4
Describes the position of Utility #4 in negotiating Group C 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 C, 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 C, 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 C, Utility #4 casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, 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 C, Utility #4 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, 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 C, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study are -
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.
Organizational Resilience of Utility 4
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Utility 4 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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 C, 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Utility 4 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 Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Utility 4 in the sector have low bargaining power. Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Utility 4 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
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.
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 C, 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.
High brand equity
– Utility 4 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Utility 4 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Utility 4 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, Utility #4 are -
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 C, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Utility 4 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4, in the dynamic environment Utility 4 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Utility 4 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 C, Utility #4 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Willis Emmons suggests that, Utility 4 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Utility 4 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Utility 4 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Utility 4 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Utility 4 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4, it seems that the employees of Utility 4 don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4, 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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.
Opportunities Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, Utility #4 are -
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 Utility 4 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.
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 C, 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.
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. Utility 4 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 C, 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.
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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Utility 4 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.
Threats Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, Utility #4 are -
Increasing wage structure of Utility 4
– 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 Utility 4.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Utility 4 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 C, 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4, Utility 4 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 .
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.
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.
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 Utility 4.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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 C, 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 C, 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 C, 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 C, 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.