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 - – increasing energy prices, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Utility 4 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Utility 4 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Training and development
– Utility 4 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 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.
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 C, Utility #4 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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 -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 HBR case study mentions - Utility 4 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Utility 4 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 C, Utility #4 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Utility 4 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Utility 4 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Utility 4 can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group C, Utility #4, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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. Utility 4 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Utility 4 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.
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 -
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Utility 4 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.
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. Utility 4 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
