PRC & Peter Ross SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of PRC & Peter Ross
The multi-million dollar technology licensing agreement was in danger of falling apart. It was late September 2001; some months previously, The University of Western Ontario's (UWO's) Industry Liaison Office had signed a conditional agreement with a major pharmaceutical company operating throughout the People's Republic of China (PRC). The agreement permitted the company to utilize specific technology developed at UWO in health products to be marketed throughout the PRC. The agreement was conditional upon ratification being signed not later than October 31, 2001 - but, within that period, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the months immediately following September 11, 2001, the appetite of the PRC for buying Western technology had greatly diminished, and the PRC Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Development continued to delay ratification of the agreement. UWO's legal counsel, Peter Ross, was asked by his university to lay out the framework and possible alternative courses of action within which a decision could be made as to what the university could do in this situation. The learning objectives of the case are: 1) to become aware of the forms of intellectual property (IP) that can be involved in international cooperation, the potential difficulties and risks involved in sharing IP, the types of agreements that can be drawn up to minimize the risks, and the legal frameworks within which disagreements can be resolved 2) to become aware of how different partner countries respect or allegedly disregard rights to IP and commercial transactions generally 3) to develop strategies for coping in this environment.
Swot Analysis of "PRC & Peter Ross" written by Frederick Keenan, Peter Ross includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Prc Agreement facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in PRC & Peter Ross case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Research & development and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the PRC & Peter Ross casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in PRC & Peter Ross case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Prc Agreement, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Prc Agreement 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 PRC & Peter Ross can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in PRC & Peter Ross case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Prc Agreement
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 Prc Agreement
Strengths PRC & Peter Ross | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Prc Agreement in PRC & Peter Ross Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Prc Agreement is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in PRC & Peter Ross Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the PRC & Peter Ross 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Prc Agreement 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.
Training and development
– Prc Agreement has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in PRC & Peter Ross 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Prc Agreement 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 PRC & Peter Ross - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Prc Agreement 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 Prc Agreement is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in PRC & Peter Ross Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Prc Agreement in the sector have low bargaining power. PRC & Peter Ross has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Prc Agreement to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Prc Agreement is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the PRC & Peter Ross are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Prc Agreement is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in PRC & Peter Ross 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 Prc Agreement 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Prc Agreement 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 brand equity
– Prc Agreement has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Prc Agreement to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses PRC & Peter Ross | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of PRC & Peter Ross are -
Need for greater diversity
– Prc Agreement 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Prc Agreement, firm in the HBR case study PRC & Peter Ross needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study PRC & Peter Ross, is just above the industry average. Prc Agreement 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Prc Agreement is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Prc Agreement needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Prc Agreement to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As PRC & Peter Ross HBR case study mentions - Prc Agreement 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the PRC & Peter Ross 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 Prc Agreement has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Prc Agreement supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - PRC & Peter Ross, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Prc Agreement vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Prc Agreement products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Prc Agreement needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study PRC & Peter Ross, it seems that the employees of Prc Agreement 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Prc Agreement 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Prc Agreement 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.
Opportunities PRC & Peter Ross | 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 PRC & Peter Ross are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Prc Agreement 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 Prc Agreement to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Prc Agreement 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Prc Agreement has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Prc Agreement to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the PRC & Peter Ross case study. Prc Agreement can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Prc Agreement 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Prc Agreement 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, PRC & Peter Ross, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Prc Agreement can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Prc Agreement 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Prc Agreement 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.
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 Prc Agreement in the consumer business. Now Prc Agreement can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Prc Agreement 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Prc Agreement 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. Prc Agreement 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Prc Agreement can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Prc Agreement 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.
Threats PRC & Peter Ross External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study PRC & Peter Ross are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Prc Agreement is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Prc Agreement business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Prc Agreement
– 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 Prc Agreement.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Prc Agreement has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Prc Agreement 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.
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 Prc Agreement in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study PRC & Peter Ross, Prc Agreement 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 .
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 Prc Agreement.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Prc Agreement 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 PRC & Peter Ross .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Prc Agreement with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Prc Agreement 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.
Environmental challenges
– Prc Agreement 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. Prc Agreement can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of PRC & Peter Ross 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 PRC & Peter Ross 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 PRC & Peter Ross 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 PRC & Peter Ross 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 PRC & Peter Ross 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 Prc Agreement needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.