Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?
The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy board convened for a two-day meeting starting March 8, 2006. It was expected the BOJ's Policy Board would decided to end its five-year, super-loose monetary stance, mainly because a set of predetermined conditions for terminating the quantitative easing had been met--including steady year-on-year growth in the core CPI (consumer price index). Under the quantitative easing approach, the BOJ had flooded the market with far greater amounts of liquidity than needed. A decision to end the policy meant Japan was returning to a normal monetary stance targeting interest rates after five years of pursuing an unorthodox policy designed to combat persistent deflation. The BOJ's decision was not easy. Although the law established the BOJ's independence, there was considerable opposition from the government, including Prime Minister Koizumi in particular, to an early dropping of the quantitative monetary easing. Because no major central bank had ever had such a loose-money policy, no one knew for sure how to end it smoothly.
Swot Analysis of "Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?" written by Mitsuru Misawa includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Easing Boj's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Policy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Easing Boj's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Easing Boj's operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Easing Boj's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Easing Boj's
Strengths Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Easing Boj's in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Easing Boj's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Easing Boj's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Easing Boj's in the sector have low bargaining power. Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Easing Boj's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Easing Boj's is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Easing Boj's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Easing Boj's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Easing Boj's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Easing Boj's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Training and development
– Easing Boj's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Easing Boj's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Easing Boj's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Easing Boj's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Easing Boj's 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Easing Boj's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Easing Boj's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Easing Boj's is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Easing Boj's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Easing Boj's are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Weaknesses Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? are -
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 Easing Boj's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Easing Boj's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?, is just above the industry average. Easing Boj's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Easing Boj's 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Easing Boj's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Easing Boj's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Easing Boj's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Easing Boj's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?, in the dynamic environment Easing Boj's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Easing Boj's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Easing Boj's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Easing Boj's 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 - Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Easing Boj's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? | 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? are -
Loyalty marketing
– Easing Boj's 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.
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 Easing Boj's in the consumer business. Now Easing Boj's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Easing Boj's can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Easing Boj's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Easing Boj's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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. Easing Boj's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Easing Boj's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Easing Boj's to increase its market reach. Easing Boj's 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 Easing Boj's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Easing Boj's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? case study. Easing Boj's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Easing Boj's can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Easing Boj's can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Easing Boj's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Easing Boj's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? are -
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 Easing Boj's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Easing Boj's needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Easing Boj's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Easing Boj's 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? .
Increasing wage structure of Easing Boj's
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Easing Boj's.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Easing Boj's 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Easing Boj's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Easing Boj's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Easing Boj's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Easing Boj's is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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
– Easing Boj's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Easing Boj's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Easing Boj's can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Bank of Japan's Meeting in March 2006: An End to the Quantitative Easing Policy? 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 Easing Boj's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.