Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform
Robert Malott, Chairman and CEO of FMC, must decide whether or not to continue his work on product liability law reform, an issue on which he has worked for almost 10 years. Malott must decide how extensive his own involvement should be and what arguments he can or should make to persuade fellow members of the Business Roundtable and other business leaders to join him.
Swot Analysis of "Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform" written by Martha Wagner Weinberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Malott Liability facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Decision making, Developing employees, Regulation and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Malott Liability, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Malott Liability 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Malott Liability
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 Malott Liability
Strengths Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Malott Liability in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Malott Liability is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Malott Liability is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Malott Liability is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Malott Liability
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Malott Liability 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 Malott Liability digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Malott Liability 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Malott Liability is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Malott Liability 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Malott Liability is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Malott Liability has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Malott Liability to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Malott Liability to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Malott Liability to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Malott Liability in the sector have low bargaining power. Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Malott Liability to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Malott Liability 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.
Weaknesses Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform are -
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 Malott Liability supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Malott Liability vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Malott Liability products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Malott Liability needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Malott Liability, firm in the HBR case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Martha Wagner Weinberg suggests that, Malott Liability 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Malott Liability 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Malott Liability is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Malott Liability needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Malott Liability to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Malott Liability 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Malott Liability 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 - Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform, is just above the industry average. Malott Liability needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Malott Liability is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform | 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform are -
Manufacturing automation
– Malott Liability 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.
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 Malott Liability to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Malott Liability has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Malott Liability to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform case study. Malott Liability can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Malott Liability in the consumer business. Now Malott Liability can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Malott Liability 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Malott Liability 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Malott Liability 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 Malott Liability to increase its market reach. Malott Liability 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Malott Liability 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 Malott Liability to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Malott Liability can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Malott Liability 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Malott Liability 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Malott Liability 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.
Threats Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Malott Liability 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Malott Liability 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Malott Liability has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Malott Liability 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Malott Liability 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 Malott Liability in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Malott Liability 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. Malott Liability can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Malott Liability 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Malott Liability 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform .
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.
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. Malott Liability can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Malott Liability 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform, Malott Liability 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 Malott Liability is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform 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 Malott Liability needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.