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Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change


In 2010, Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Limited was a highly successful, large real estate developer based in Beijing, China. Sino-Ocean Land had three main business segments-property development, property investment/management, and other real estate related businesses. From 2005-2009, the company focused on becoming a leading regional developer with a multiproduct offering. That strategy was successful, riding the wave of spectacular growth in the Chinese real estate sector from 1998-2008, following a loosening of Chinese state real estate regulations. Although Sino-Ocean Land had gone public in 2007, its key shareholders were still state owned enterprises. The state maintained significant influence on the company and the real estate market, in general. The case explores the interactions between the company and the state, examining land acquisition, financing, and corporate governance. Following the global financial crisis of 2008, Sino-Ocean Land must devise a new five year strategic plan. CEO Li Ming must grapple with the changing market dynamics and regulatory environment, to decide the best course for the company. Key issues that he must determine are: whether the focus should be local or national; whether to continue with multiproduct offerings, or specialize in one product type; and whether to continue to pursue primarily development, or to shift to property investment and holding.

Authors :: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Jeffrey Hu, Runjiao Xu

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Business law, Change management, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Marketing, Policy, Risk management, Strategic planning, Strategy execution, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change" written by Nicolas P. Retsinas, Jeffrey Hu, Runjiao Xu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sino Ocean facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business law, Change management, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Marketing, Policy, Risk management, Strategic planning, Strategy execution and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sino Ocean, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sino Ocean 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sino Ocean
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sino Ocean




Strengths Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Sino Ocean in Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change Harvard Business Review case study are -

Innovation driven organization

– Sino Ocean is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Sino Ocean in the sector have low bargaining power. Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sino Ocean to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Sino Ocean

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sino Ocean does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Sino Ocean 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sino Ocean to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sino Ocean to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Sino Ocean 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

High brand equity

– Sino Ocean has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sino Ocean to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Sino Ocean has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sino Ocean 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Sino Ocean is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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

– Sino Ocean 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

– Sino Ocean is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Sino Ocean has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.






Weaknesses Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sino Ocean is planning to shift buying processes online.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino Ocean 's lucrative customers.

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 Sino Ocean supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sino Ocean vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sino Ocean 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Sino Ocean products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sino Ocean needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Sino Ocean 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Sino Ocean, firm in the HBR case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change, it seems that the employees of Sino Ocean 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Sino Ocean is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Sino Ocean needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sino Ocean to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sino Ocean is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change, in the dynamic environment Sino Ocean has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sino Ocean has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change | 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sino Ocean 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sino Ocean 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 Sino Ocean to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sino Ocean can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sino Ocean operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sino Ocean to increase its market reach. Sino Ocean 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Sino Ocean can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sino Ocean 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sino Ocean 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, Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Sino Ocean 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sino Ocean in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sino Ocean can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sino Ocean 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. Sino Ocean 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.

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. Sino Ocean can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sino Ocean 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change are -

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change, Sino Ocean may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Sino Ocean 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.

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 Sino Ocean business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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.

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 Sino Ocean in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Regulatory challenges

– Sino Ocean 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Sino Ocean 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sino Ocean can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Sino Ocean.

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.

Environmental challenges

– Sino Ocean 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. Sino Ocean can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

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. Sino Ocean 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 Sino Ocean

– 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 Sino Ocean.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change 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 Sino Ocean needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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