Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties
In early 1992, Mr. Eu, managing director of Kanzen Tetsu Sdn. Bhd. (KTSB), a new Malaysian producer of stainless steel tubing, received a letter from KTSB's attorney in Washington, DC, informing him that the U.S. Specialty Tube Group had written to the U.S. president concerning stainless steel tubing imported into the United States from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia at dumped prices that was causing injury to the U.S. industry. For the next year, Mr. Eu considered how he should respond to this threat, while at the same time increasing KTSB's exports to the United States so that KTSB could meet its sales and profit goals. In March 1993, Mr. Eu was informed that a formal antidumping action had been taken against imports of stainless steel tubing from Malaysia (and other countries). Mr. Eu is considering what he should do now, both to preserve KTSB's market in the United States and maintain alternative markets in other countries.
Swot Analysis of "Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties" written by Donald J. Lecraw, Boon Lim includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ktsb's Tubing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ktsb's Tubing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ktsb's Tubing 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ktsb's Tubing
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 Ktsb's Tubing
Strengths Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ktsb's Tubing in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ktsb's Tubing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ktsb's Tubing in the sector have low bargaining power. Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ktsb's Tubing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Ktsb's Tubing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ktsb's Tubing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Ktsb's Tubing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ktsb's Tubing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ktsb's Tubing 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ktsb's Tubing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ktsb's Tubing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Ktsb's Tubing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ktsb's Tubing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ktsb's Tubing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Weaknesses Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ktsb's Tubing 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 - Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, in the dynamic environment Ktsb's Tubing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ktsb's Tubing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Donald J. Lecraw, Boon Lim suggests that, Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ktsb's Tubing 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, it seems that the employees of Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ktsb's Tubing is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Ktsb's Tubing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ktsb's Tubing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties | 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ktsb's Tubing to increase its market reach. Ktsb's Tubing 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 Ktsb's Tubing in the consumer business. Now Ktsb's Tubing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Ktsb's Tubing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ktsb's Tubing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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.
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. Ktsb's Tubing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ktsb's Tubing 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.
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 Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ktsb's Tubing 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, Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ktsb's Tubing 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 Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ktsb's Tubing 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 Ktsb's Tubing to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties are -
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 Ktsb's Tubing in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Ktsb's Tubing 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.
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 Ktsb's Tubing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ktsb's Tubing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ktsb's Tubing 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.
Increasing wage structure of Ktsb's Tubing
– 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 Ktsb's Tubing.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ktsb's Tubing is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties, Ktsb's Tubing 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ktsb's Tubing 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ktsb's Tubing 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.
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 Ktsb's Tubing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Ktsb's Tubing.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Kanzen Berhad: The United States and Antidumping Duties 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 Ktsb's Tubing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
