U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy
Presents four views of U.S. macroeconomic developments in the late 1990s: an HBS professor, the Federal Reserve, the Clinton administration, and President George W. Bush. Develops the implications of the new economy--technological and organizational change--for business and discusses the important issues for the conduct of macroeconomic policy that these phenomena raise.
Swot Analysis of "U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy" written by Huw Pill includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Macroeconomic Phenomena facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Internet, Policy, Productivity and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Macroeconomic Phenomena, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Macroeconomic Phenomena
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 Macroeconomic Phenomena
Strengths U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Macroeconomic Phenomena in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Huw Pill 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
– Macroeconomic Phenomena is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Macroeconomic Phenomena 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
- Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Macroeconomic Phenomena has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Macroeconomic Phenomena digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Macroeconomic Phenomena to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Macroeconomic Phenomena to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Macroeconomic Phenomena in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Macroeconomic Phenomena has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Macroeconomic Phenomena to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Macroeconomic Phenomena has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena '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 Macroeconomic Phenomena supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Macroeconomic Phenomena vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 - U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy, in the dynamic environment Macroeconomic Phenomena has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Macroeconomic Phenomena has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Macroeconomic Phenomena needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Huw Pill suggests that, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Macroeconomic Phenomena has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Macroeconomic Phenomena even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Opportunities U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy | 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena to increase its market reach. Macroeconomic Phenomena 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
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Macroeconomic Phenomena to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Macroeconomic Phenomena can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Macroeconomic Phenomena can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Macroeconomic Phenomena is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Macroeconomic Phenomena can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Macroeconomic Phenomena operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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. Macroeconomic Phenomena can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy, Macroeconomic Phenomena may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Macroeconomic Phenomena
– 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Macroeconomic Phenomena has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
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 Macroeconomic Phenomena.
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. Macroeconomic Phenomena needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Macroeconomic Phenomena 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.
Environmental challenges
– Macroeconomic Phenomena 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. Macroeconomic Phenomena can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Macroeconomic Phenomena in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Macroeconomic Phenomena 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 U.S. in 2001: Macroeconomic Policy and the New Economy 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 Macroeconomic Phenomena needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.