Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation
Traces the evolution of U.S. regulatory policy towards the pharmaceutical industry over the course of the twentieth century. A major theme is the steady shift away from a policy of 'let the buyer beware' to the creation of a complex and time-consuming review process, administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in which both the safety and efficacy of each new drug must be demonstrated prior to sale in the United States. The basic economics of the pharmaceutical business are covered as well, including the trend toward greater emphasis on both marketing and R&D over the course of the century. The controversial issues of drug pricing, patent policy, and access to experimental drugs in the age of AIDS are explored as well. Includes a number of statistical charts and graphs of key indicators relating to the pharmaceutical industry in the post-WWII era.
Swot Analysis of "Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation" written by Willis Emmons, Jeremiah O'Regan, Monica Brand includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pharmaceutical Drug facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Marketing, Personnel policies, Policy, Research & development and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pharmaceutical Drug, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pharmaceutical Drug 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pharmaceutical Drug
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 Pharmaceutical Drug
Strengths Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pharmaceutical Drug in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Pharmaceutical Drug in the sector have low bargaining power. Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Pharmaceutical Drug to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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 lead change in Global Business field
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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 Pharmaceutical Drug in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pharmaceutical Drug digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Organizational Resilience of Pharmaceutical Drug
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pharmaceutical Drug does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pharmaceutical Drug is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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.
Learning organization
- Pharmaceutical Drug 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 Pharmaceutical Drug is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Pharmaceutical Drug has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pharmaceutical Drug to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pharmaceutical Drug to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pharmaceutical Drug to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Pharmaceutical Drug has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Training and development
– Pharmaceutical Drug has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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.
Weaknesses Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pharmaceutical Drug 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Pharmaceutical Drug has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pharmaceutical Drug, firm in the HBR case study Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pharmaceutical Drug products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pharmaceutical Drug needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pharmaceutical Drug is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Pharmaceutical Drug needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pharmaceutical Drug to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation HBR case study mentions - Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Pharmaceutical Drug 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation, it seems that the employees of Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Pharmaceutical Drug 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 - Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation | 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pharmaceutical Drug 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 Pharmaceutical Drug to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pharmaceutical Drug to increase its market reach. Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
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 Pharmaceutical Drug in the consumer business. Now Pharmaceutical Drug can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pharmaceutical Drug is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pharmaceutical Drug can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pharmaceutical Drug operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pharmaceutical Drug has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pharmaceutical Drug to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation case study. Pharmaceutical Drug can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pharmaceutical Drug can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pharmaceutical Drug to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Threats Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation are -
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 Pharmaceutical Drug.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Environmental challenges
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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. Pharmaceutical Drug can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pharmaceutical Drug has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pharmaceutical Drug with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
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 Pharmaceutical Drug business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
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. Pharmaceutical Drug 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation, Pharmaceutical Drug 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation 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 Pharmaceutical Drug needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.