Swot Analysis of "Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B)" written by Willis Emmons, Martin Calles includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Zealand Telecom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economy, Regulation and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zealand Telecom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zealand Telecom 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zealand Telecom
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 Zealand Telecom
Strengths Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zealand Telecom in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Zealand Telecom 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 Zealand Telecom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Zealand Telecom is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zealand Telecom to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zealand Telecom to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Zealand Telecom 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Zealand Telecom 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
– Zealand Telecom has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Zealand Telecom in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Zealand Telecom is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Zealand Telecom has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Zealand Telecom to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Zealand Telecom
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Zealand Telecom does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Zealand Telecom digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Zealand Telecom 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Zealand Telecom 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 Zealand Telecom supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Zealand Telecom vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Zealand Telecom 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B), 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Zealand Telecom 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Zealand Telecom 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. Zealand Telecom 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Zealand Telecom 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B), in the dynamic environment Zealand Telecom has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Zealand Telecom has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) HBR case study mentions - Zealand Telecom 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Willis Emmons, Martin Calles suggests that, Zealand Telecom 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Zealand Telecom 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) | 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) are -
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 Zealand Telecom in the consumer business. Now Zealand Telecom can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Zealand Telecom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Zealand Telecom 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zealand Telecom 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Zealand Telecom 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Zealand Telecom is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Zealand Telecom 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 Zealand Telecom to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Zealand Telecom 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Zealand Telecom 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Zealand Telecom to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Zealand Telecom 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Zealand Telecom 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zealand Telecom can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zealand Telecom operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Zealand Telecom has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Zealand Telecom to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) case study. Zealand Telecom can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Zealand Telecom 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.
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 Zealand Telecom in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Zealand Telecom
– 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 Zealand Telecom.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B), Zealand Telecom 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Zealand Telecom is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Zealand Telecom has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Zealand Telecom 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Zealand Telecom with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Zealand Telecom 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.
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.
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 Zealand Telecom.
Environmental challenges
– Zealand Telecom 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. Zealand Telecom can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Zealand Telecom 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (B) 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 Zealand Telecom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.