GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008
By 2008, GlobeOp was a leader in technology-enabled middle- and back-office support services and fund administration for hedge funds, fund managers, family wealth managers, and institutional investors, serving more than 160 clients worldwide (55 percent in the United States and the remainder in Europe, aside from a few in Asia). Now with a total of over US$100 billion in assets under administration (AUA), the company had been profitable since its second year of operations (2001). GlobeOp employed over 1,700 people in all of its offices-London, New York, Dublin, Ireland, the Cayman Islands, Harrison, New York, Hartford, Connecticut, and Mumbai, India. In fact, two-thirds of the company's employees were based in India by 2008. In terms of services to its clients, GlobeOp handled a broad palette of services post-execution of a trade. By 2008, GlobeOp had defined functional leadership with processes, and developed the technology to support such people and processes. But the road to that point had not been easy. Typical of many growth companies, GlobeOp had faced several internal and external challenges that tested the skills and tenacity of its management team. In addition, on the product side, GlobeOp had begun to unbundle its products and target new clients, which required a new emphasis on marketing and sales. As Hufschmid reflected on the company's path, he wondered whether he and his team had made all the optimal decisions while growing the company, and more importantly, how to map out the future of GlobeOp, given his desire for continued improvement and growth.
Swot Analysis of "GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008" written by Glenn R. Carroll, Victoria Chang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Globeop 2008 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Globeop 2008, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Globeop 2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Globeop 2008
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 Globeop 2008
Strengths GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Globeop 2008 in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Globeop 2008 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Globeop 2008 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Globeop 2008
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Globeop 2008 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Globeop 2008 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Globeop 2008 in the sector have low bargaining power. GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Globeop 2008 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Globeop 2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Globeop 2008 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
– Globeop 2008 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Globeop 2008 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 Globeop 2008 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Globeop 2008 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Globeop 2008 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Globeop 2008 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 Glenn R. Carroll, Victoria Chang 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Globeop 2008 has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Globeop 2008 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Globeop 2008 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Globeop 2008 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Globeop 2008 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 Globeop 2008 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008, in the dynamic environment Globeop 2008 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Globeop 2008 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Globeop 2008 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. Globeop 2008 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Globeop 2008 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Globeop 2008 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Globeop 2008 is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Globeop 2008 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 Globeop 2008 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 | 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Globeop 2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Globeop 2008 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Globeop 2008 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. Globeop 2008 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Globeop 2008 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, GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Globeop 2008 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Globeop 2008 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Globeop 2008 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Globeop 2008 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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 Globeop 2008 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Globeop 2008 can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Global Business segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Globeop 2008 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Globeop 2008 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Globeop 2008 to increase its market reach. Globeop 2008 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Globeop 2008 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Globeop 2008 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 case study. Globeop 2008 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Globeop 2008 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.
Threats GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Globeop 2008 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Globeop 2008 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
– Globeop 2008 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. Globeop 2008 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Globeop 2008 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008, Globeop 2008 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 wage structure of Globeop 2008
– 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 Globeop 2008.
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 Globeop 2008 in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Globeop 2008 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Globeop 2008 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.
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 Globeop 2008 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Globeop 2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Globeop 2008 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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 Globeop 2008 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.