Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan

As the economies of Greater China continued the process of rapid transformation and industrialization, newly industrialized countries (NICs), such as Taiwan and mainland China, experienced dramatic changes in their business settings. Accompanying the industrialization of east Asian economies, business ethics were in a state of flux, as traditional values were often swept aside to justify profit maximization. In this ever-changing business environment, what were the characteristics and benefits of Chinese business ethics? What role did they play? Could an integrity-based business practice serve as a source of competitive advantage? What business settings were supporting business ethics? Few studies have paid attention to these kinds of questions. Sinyi was one of the most successful real estate agent companies in Taiwan and mainland China. From a Confucian perspective, Sinyi's founder cultivated a "people-centered" culture for both its customers and employees. By applying business ethics as a central differentiating strategy, Sinyi established an excellent corporate image and was regarded by many as the role model of responsible business. Sinyi service was regarded as premier in Taiwan. Its customer satisfaction rating was also far above the industry average. Trustworthiness and fair dealing were the company's guiding principles. This was in contrast to the-then chaotic environment of the real estate industry in Taiwan, where basic trust between buyers and sellers was rare and deceit existed everywhere. Focusing on using business ethics as a central differentiating strategy, Sinyi had grown into Sinyi Group, which successfully integrated upstream, midstream and downstream industries and established a highly-acclaimed business model. Over the past two decades, Sinyi Group had expanded its operations to mainland China and forged an alliance with global real estate brokerage Coldwell Banker. The case can be used for MBA and EMBA courses in business ethics (in a module on culture and business ethics) and strategic management (in a module on strategic business ethics). This case should provoke holistic thinking and discussion on sustainable business, Confucian entrepreneurship and the relationship between business ethics and competitive advantages.

Authors :: Terence Tsai, Borshiuan Cheng, Shubo Philip Liu

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Ethics, Human resource management, International business, IT, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan" written by Terence Tsai, Borshiuan Cheng, Shubo Philip Liu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sinyi Ethics facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Human resource management, International business, IT, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sinyi Ethics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sinyi Ethics 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sinyi Ethics
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 Sinyi Ethics

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Strengths Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Sinyi Ethics in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan Harvard Business Review case study are -

Strong track record of project management

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

Organizational Resilience of Sinyi Ethics

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sinyi Ethics does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

High brand equity

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

Training and development

– Sinyi Ethics has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Sinyi Ethics is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Analytics focus

– Sinyi Ethics 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 Terence Tsai, Borshiuan Cheng, Shubo Philip Liu 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Sinyi Ethics is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Ethics 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Sinyi Ethics in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Sinyi Ethics is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sinyi Ethics digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sinyi Ethics 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Sinyi Ethics in the sector have low bargaining power. Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sinyi Ethics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

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Weaknesses Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sinyi Ethics is planning to shift buying processes online.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Sinyi Ethics 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Sinyi Ethics 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan, in the dynamic environment Sinyi Ethics has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sinyi Ethics has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

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 Sinyi Ethics supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sinyi Ethics vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sinyi Ethics 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan HBR case study mentions - Sinyi Ethics 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Terence Tsai, Borshiuan Cheng, Shubo Philip Liu suggests that, Sinyi Ethics 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Sinyi Ethics is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Sinyi Ethics needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sinyi Ethics to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Ethics 's lucrative customers.

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Opportunities Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan | 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sinyi Ethics to increase its market reach. Sinyi Ethics 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.

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 Sinyi Ethics in the consumer business. Now Sinyi Ethics can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Sinyi Ethics can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sinyi Ethics 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Sinyi Ethics 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Sinyi Ethics 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Sinyi Ethics 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sinyi Ethics 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, Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan, 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, Sinyi Ethics 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Sinyi Ethics 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Sinyi Ethics has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sinyi Ethics to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan case study. Sinyi Ethics can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Sinyi Ethics can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sinyi Ethics operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.

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Threats Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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.

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 Sinyi Ethics.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Sinyi Ethics is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Sinyi Ethics

– 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 Sinyi Ethics.

Regulatory challenges

– Sinyi Ethics 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan, Sinyi Ethics 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 .

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sinyi Ethics 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Sinyi Ethics 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.

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

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 Sinyi Ethics in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline 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

– Sinyi Ethics has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sinyi Ethics 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.

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 Sinyi Ethics business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Real Estate in Taiwan 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 Sinyi Ethics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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