Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur
The case provides insight into a business leader whose cognizance of contextual forces (social, economic, and political) allowed him to drive significant change in an industry and Japanese society in the second half of the twentieth century.
Authors :: Anthony J. Mayo, Masako Egawa, Mayuka Yamazaki
Swot Analysis of "Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur" written by Anthony J. Mayo, Masako Egawa, Mayuka Yamazaki includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cognizance Inamori facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing people, Manufacturing, Regulation and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cognizance Inamori, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cognizance Inamori 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cognizance Inamori
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 Cognizance Inamori
Strengths Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cognizance Inamori in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cognizance Inamori 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 Cognizance Inamori
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cognizance Inamori does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cognizance Inamori is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Cognizance Inamori 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 Cognizance Inamori in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cognizance Inamori in the sector have low bargaining power. Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cognizance Inamori to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cognizance Inamori 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Strong track record of project management
– Cognizance Inamori 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 brand equity
– Cognizance Inamori has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cognizance Inamori to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Cognizance Inamori is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Cognizance Inamori has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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.
Learning organization
- Cognizance Inamori 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 Cognizance Inamori is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cognizance Inamori, firm in the HBR case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cognizance Inamori is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cognizance Inamori has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cognizance Inamori 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. Cognizance Inamori 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cognizance Inamori is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur, in the dynamic environment Cognizance Inamori has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cognizance Inamori has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cognizance Inamori 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Cognizance Inamori 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cognizance Inamori 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 - Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cognizance Inamori 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anthony J. Mayo, Masako Egawa, Mayuka Yamazaki suggests that, Cognizance Inamori 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.
Opportunities Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur | 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cognizance Inamori can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Cognizance Inamori can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cognizance Inamori can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cognizance Inamori 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 Cognizance Inamori to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Cognizance Inamori can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cognizance Inamori 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cognizance Inamori to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cognizance Inamori can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cognizance Inamori operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Cognizance Inamori has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cognizance Inamori 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cognizance Inamori 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, Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cognizance Inamori 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.
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 Cognizance Inamori in the consumer business. Now Cognizance Inamori can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cognizance Inamori to increase its market reach. Cognizance Inamori 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.
Threats Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cognizance Inamori 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.
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 Cognizance Inamori in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Cognizance Inamori 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cognizance Inamori 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.
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 Cognizance Inamori business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Cognizance Inamori needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cognizance Inamori with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cognizance Inamori has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cognizance Inamori 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cognizance Inamori 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cognizance Inamori 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 Cognizance Inamori
– 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 Cognizance Inamori.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese Entrepreneur 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 Cognizance Inamori needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.