Swot Analysis of "Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement" written by Jim Sharpe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Elasto Therm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Crisis management, Design, Entrepreneurial management, Gender, Growth strategy, Labor, Manufacturing, Mergers & acquisitions, Motivating people, Pricing, Strategic planning, Work-life balance and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Elasto Therm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Elasto Therm
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Elasto Therm
Strengths Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Elasto Therm in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Elasto Therm in the sector have low bargaining power. Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Elasto Therm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Elasto Therm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Elasto Therm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Elasto Therm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Elasto Therm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Elasto Therm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Elasto Therm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Elasto Therm 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
– Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Elasto Therm is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Elasto Therm 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.
Organizational Resilience of Elasto Therm
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Elasto Therm does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Elasto Therm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement HBR case study mentions - Elasto Therm 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Elasto Therm is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Elasto Therm needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Elasto Therm to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jim Sharpe suggests that, Elasto Therm 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Elasto Therm 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Elasto Therm, firm in the HBR case study Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Elasto Therm 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.
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 Elasto Therm supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Elasto Therm vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Elasto Therm 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 - Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Elasto Therm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Elasto Therm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Elasto Therm is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement | 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Elasto Therm 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Elasto Therm 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. Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Elasto Therm in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Elasto Therm 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Elasto Therm in the consumer business. Now Elasto Therm can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Elasto Therm to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Elasto Therm 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Elasto Therm can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Elasto Therm to increase its market reach. Elasto Therm 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Elasto Therm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Elasto Therm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement case study. Elasto Therm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Elasto Therm can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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. Elasto Therm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Elasto Therm 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.
Environmental challenges
– Elasto Therm 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. Elasto Therm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Elasto Therm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Elasto Therm 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Elasto Therm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Elasto Therm needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Elasto Therm is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Elasto Therm in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Elasto Therm in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement, Elasto Therm may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Elasto Therm can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Elasto Therm 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm: The Next Step, Video Supplement 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 Elasto Therm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.