Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video

CEO of Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani, candidly responds to controversial questions about his Englishnization strategy and implementation across 7,100 employees a year and a half later: Did he make an impulsive move when he mandated English as the company language? Why does he enforce a universal mandate? How has he adjusted his stance on how to elicit commitment from his employees over time? Is he imposing the pursuit of being a role model company of a new Japan on his employees?

Authors :: Tsedal Neeley

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: Collaboration, Communication, Globalization, IT, Leading teams, Organizational culture, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video" written by Tsedal Neeley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mikitani Englishnization facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Collaboration, Communication, Globalization, IT, Leading teams, Organizational culture and Global Business.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mikitani Englishnization, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mikitani Englishnization 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mikitani Englishnization
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 Mikitani Englishnization

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Strengths Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Mikitani Englishnization in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video Harvard Business Review case study are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mikitani Englishnization to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mikitani Englishnization to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Mikitani Englishnization is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Mikitani Englishnization has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Mikitani Englishnization 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 Mikitani Englishnization in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Diverse revenue streams

– Mikitani Englishnization is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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.

Training and development

– Mikitani Englishnization has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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.

Analytics focus

– Mikitani Englishnization 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 Tsedal Neeley 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Mikitani Englishnization 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High brand equity

– Mikitani Englishnization has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mikitani Englishnization to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Mikitani Englishnization is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

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Weaknesses Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video, is just above the industry average. Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Mikitani Englishnization products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mikitani Englishnization 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, Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video, in the dynamic environment Mikitani Englishnization has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mikitani Englishnization has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Mikitani Englishnization, firm in the HBR case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video HBR case study mentions - Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mikitani Englishnization is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Mikitani Englishnization has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video, 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.

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Opportunities Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video | 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Mikitani Englishnization in the consumer business. Now Mikitani Englishnization can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mikitani Englishnization 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 Mikitani Englishnization to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Manufacturing automation

– Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Mikitani Englishnization 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mikitani Englishnization to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Mikitani Englishnization 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.

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. Mikitani Englishnization 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. Mikitani Englishnization can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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. Mikitani Englishnization 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. Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mikitani Englishnization can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Mikitani Englishnization 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.

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Threats Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video are -

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video, Mikitani Englishnization 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 .

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. Mikitani Englishnization can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Mikitani Englishnization has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mikitani Englishnization 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.

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.

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 Mikitani Englishnization business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mikitani Englishnization with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Mikitani Englishnization needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Mikitani Englishnization.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mikitani Englishnization 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mikitani Englishnization 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Mikitani Englishnization 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011), Video 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 Mikitani Englishnization needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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