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, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Globeop 2008 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Globeop 2008 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Globeop 2008 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Globeop 2008 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.
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Globeop 2008 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Globeop 2008 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 GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Globeop 2008 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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008, it seems that the employees of Globeop 2008 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Glenn R. Carroll, Victoria Chang suggests that, Globeop 2008 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Globeop 2008 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Globeop 2008 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Globeop 2008 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
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 -
Developing new processes and practices
– Globeop 2008 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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Globeop 2008 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. GlobeOp (B): Organizing For Hedge Fund Growth, 2003-2008 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.
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.
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.
Loyalty marketing
– Globeop 2008 has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Globeop 2008 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.
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.
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 Globeop 2008 in the consumer business. Now Globeop 2008 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Globeop 2008 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Globeop 2008 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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Globeop 2008 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Globeop 2008 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.
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.