The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978
The case documents the growth strategy that the IMF wanted to orchestrate after the first oil crisis and as the world economy did not return to the growth rates of the 1960s. The case illustrates the pinnacle of Keynesian thinking that prevailed at the time: a view of the international economy as an almost hydraulic system that could be manipulated by government policies at will to reach desirable aggregate targets. The failure of the strategy, among other things, emphasizes the importance of inflationary expectations. The case is also a nice opportunity to discuss the Phillips curve as well as the current global imbalances and what can be done about them.
Swot Analysis of "The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978" written by Peter Debaere includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Keynesian Imf's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Keynesian Imf's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Keynesian Imf's 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Keynesian Imf's
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 Keynesian Imf's
Strengths The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Keynesian Imf's in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Keynesian Imf's 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.
High brand equity
– Keynesian Imf's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Keynesian Imf's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Keynesian Imf's 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Keynesian Imf's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Keynesian Imf's 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Keynesian Imf's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Keynesian Imf's 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Keynesian Imf's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Keynesian Imf's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Keynesian Imf's 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 Keynesian Imf's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Keynesian Imf's in the sector have low bargaining power. The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Keynesian Imf's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Keynesian Imf's 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 Keynesian Imf's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Keynesian Imf's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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.
Weaknesses The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, in the dynamic environment Keynesian Imf's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Keynesian Imf's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Keynesian Imf's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Keynesian Imf's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Keynesian Imf's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Keynesian Imf's 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. Keynesian Imf's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, it seems that the employees of Keynesian Imf's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Keynesian Imf's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Keynesian Imf's is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 Keynesian Imf's 's lucrative customers.
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 Keynesian Imf's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Keynesian Imf's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Debaere suggests that, Keynesian Imf's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, is just above the industry average. Keynesian Imf's 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.
Opportunities The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 | 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Keynesian Imf's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Keynesian Imf's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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. Keynesian Imf's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Keynesian Imf's in the consumer business. Now Keynesian Imf's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Keynesian Imf's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Keynesian Imf's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Keynesian Imf's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Keynesian Imf's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Keynesian Imf's 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. Keynesian Imf's 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, Keynesian Imf's 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, The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Keynesian Imf's 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.
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 Keynesian Imf's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Keynesian Imf's 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 Keynesian Imf's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Keynesian Imf's 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.
Threats The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978, Keynesian Imf's 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Keynesian Imf's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Keynesian Imf's 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. Keynesian Imf's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Keynesian Imf's 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. Keynesian Imf's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Keynesian Imf's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Keynesian Imf's 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
– Keynesian Imf's 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.
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 Keynesian Imf's.
Increasing wage structure of Keynesian Imf's
– 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 Keynesian Imf's.
Regulatory challenges
– Keynesian Imf's 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Keynesian Imf's 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 The IMF's Coordinated Growth Strategy of 1977/1978 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 Keynesian Imf's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
