China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War
In April 2001, Japan curbed imports on three Chinese farm products--fresh shiitake mushrooms, rushes for grass mats, and Chinese onions. In retaliation, in June 2001 China imposed a 100% punitive tariff on imports of three Japanese export products--motor vehicles, mobile phones, and air conditioners. Japan was accused of violating WTO rules. The dispute was subsequently resolved, but given that China was not a WTO member at the time of the dispute, the dispute generated a lot of controversy regarding trade safeguard measures. Introduces students to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and compares it to the old GATT system, and highlights the role of political interest groups in trade policy. Questions whether Japan had a case for citing their safeguard measures or was it just protecting its powerful shiitake mushroom farmers. In addition, questions whether WTO membership would in turn protect China from trade disputes such as this one.
Swot Analysis of "China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War" written by Carola Ramon-Berjano, Ka-Fu Wong, Hitomi Iizaka includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wto Dispute facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wto Dispute, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wto Dispute 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wto Dispute
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 Wto Dispute
Strengths China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wto Dispute in China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wto Dispute to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wto Dispute to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wto Dispute in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Wto Dispute has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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.
Organizational Resilience of Wto Dispute
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wto Dispute does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Wto Dispute 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wto Dispute 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.
Analytics focus
– Wto Dispute 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 Carola Ramon-Berjano, Ka-Fu Wong, Hitomi Iizaka 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Wto Dispute 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 Wto Dispute in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wto Dispute has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wto Dispute 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wto Dispute 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wto Dispute digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wto Dispute 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.
High brand equity
– Wto Dispute has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wto Dispute to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wto Dispute 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War, in the dynamic environment Wto Dispute has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wto Dispute has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Wto Dispute 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Wto Dispute has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wto Dispute 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 - China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wto Dispute is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Wto Dispute 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War, it seems that the employees of Wto Dispute 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, Wto Dispute is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 Wto Dispute has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War | 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wto Dispute 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 Wto Dispute to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Wto Dispute 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wto Dispute 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wto Dispute 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Wto Dispute can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wto Dispute can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wto Dispute 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wto Dispute 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, China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wto Dispute to increase its market reach. Wto Dispute 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.
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. Wto Dispute 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. Wto Dispute 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.
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. Wto Dispute can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Wto Dispute 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.
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 Wto Dispute in the consumer business. Now Wto Dispute can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War are -
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 Wto Dispute in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wto Dispute 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War, Wto Dispute 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 .
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 Wto Dispute 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wto Dispute with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Wto Dispute.
Increasing wage structure of Wto Dispute
– 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 Wto Dispute.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wto Dispute has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wto Dispute 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wto Dispute 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wto Dispute 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, Wto Dispute 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War .
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. Wto Dispute can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 China Versus Japan: On the Verge of a Trade War 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 Wto Dispute needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.