The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund
A Swiss Catholic investor is faced with a decision on how to invest her savings in a socially responsible way. She learns of a new fund offered by Credit Suisse that purports to invest according to Christian values and principles. After researching the fund on the Internet, she becomes aware of the current state of ethical funds, their principles and their critics. Some organizations criticize socially responsible investing (SRI) as nothing more than a marketing ploy. The only way some funds are able to enjoy favorable returns is by using vague criteria that permit them to invest in questionable companies. Although the Christian Values fund has not performed well, it was only established a few months earlier and has not had time to establish a track record. Finally, the management fees were high compared to similar funds and the investor must decide if these fees are justified. The case provides a forum for the discussion of business ethics, religion in the workplace, and the history of ethical funds and ethical investing. Finally, it discusses the challenges faced by SRI fund managers who must balance ethical and financial considerations.
Swot Analysis of "The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund" written by Alexandra Roth, David T.A. Wesley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Christian Ethical facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Informal leadership, International business and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Christian Ethical, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Christian Ethical 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Christian Ethical
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 Christian Ethical
Strengths The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Christian Ethical in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Christian Ethical 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund - 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 Christian Ethical 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.
Learning organization
- Christian Ethical 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 Christian Ethical is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Christian Ethical 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 Christian Ethical in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Christian Ethical is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Christian Ethical
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Christian Ethical does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Christian Ethical in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Christian Ethical has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Christian Ethical to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Christian Ethical 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 Alexandra Roth, David T.A. Wesley 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Christian Ethical is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Christian Ethical 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Christian Ethical has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Christian Ethical 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.
Weaknesses The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 Christian Ethical supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Christian Ethical vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Christian Ethical 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Christian Ethical, firm in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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, Christian Ethical 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund, 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Christian Ethical 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Christian Ethical 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund, is just above the industry average. Christian Ethical 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, Alexandra Roth, David T.A. Wesley suggests that, Christian Ethical 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Christian Ethical 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 - The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Christian Ethical is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Christian Ethical needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Christian Ethical to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund | 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Christian Ethical 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 Christian Ethical to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Christian Ethical 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, The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Christian Ethical 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Christian Ethical can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Christian Ethical 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 Christian Ethical to increase its market reach. Christian Ethical 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
– Christian Ethical can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Christian Ethical is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Christian Ethical 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Christian Ethical 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.
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. Christian Ethical can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Christian Ethical 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Christian Ethical can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Christian Ethical operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Threats The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund are -
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. Christian Ethical 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.
Increasing wage structure of Christian Ethical
– 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 Christian Ethical.
Regulatory challenges
– Christian Ethical 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Christian Ethical 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund .
Environmental challenges
– Christian Ethical 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. Christian Ethical can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Christian Ethical.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund, Christian Ethical 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Christian Ethical 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Christian Ethical has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Christian Ethical 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Christian Ethical 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.
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 Christian Ethical business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Christian Ethical 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 The Credit Suisse Christian Values Fund 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 Christian Ethical needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.