Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B)
Mike Mayo takes on Citigroup (B) is a supplementary exercise to go along with Mike Mayo takes on Citigroup (A) case and is designed to give students an opportunity to understand the creation of deferred tax liabilities (DTLs) and the life cycle of a DTL using an example based on the difference between Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) depreciation which is allowed for tax purposes, and straight line depreciation which is typically the method used for financial statements.
Swot Analysis of "Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B)" written by Suraj Srinivasan, Amy Kaser includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mayo Citigroup facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mayo Citigroup, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mayo Citigroup 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mayo Citigroup
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 Mayo Citigroup
Strengths Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mayo Citigroup in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mayo Citigroup has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Mayo Citigroup is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mayo Citigroup digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mayo Citigroup 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.
Organizational Resilience of Mayo Citigroup
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mayo Citigroup does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mayo Citigroup to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mayo Citigroup to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mayo Citigroup has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mayo Citigroup 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mayo Citigroup in the sector have low bargaining power. Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mayo Citigroup to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mayo Citigroup is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Mayo Citigroup is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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.
High brand equity
– Mayo Citigroup has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mayo Citigroup to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Mayo Citigroup 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 Mayo Citigroup is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mayo Citigroup supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mayo Citigroup vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mayo Citigroup 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mayo Citigroup 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. Mayo Citigroup 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mayo Citigroup 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 - Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mayo Citigroup 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B), is just above the industry average. Mayo Citigroup 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mayo Citigroup 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B), 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mayo Citigroup products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mayo Citigroup needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) HBR case study mentions - Mayo Citigroup 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mayo Citigroup is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) | 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mayo Citigroup can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Mayo Citigroup can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mayo Citigroup 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mayo Citigroup 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, Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B), 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
– Mayo Citigroup 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mayo Citigroup can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Mayo Citigroup can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mayo Citigroup to increase its market reach. Mayo Citigroup 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mayo Citigroup to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Mayo Citigroup to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mayo Citigroup can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mayo Citigroup operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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 Mayo Citigroup in the consumer business. Now Mayo Citigroup can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Mayo Citigroup 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.
Threats Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) are -
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 Mayo Citigroup.
Environmental challenges
– Mayo Citigroup 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. Mayo Citigroup can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mayo Citigroup 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mayo Citigroup
– 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 Mayo Citigroup.
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. Mayo Citigroup needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mayo Citigroup is facing in Finance & Accounting 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 Mayo Citigroup in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Mayo Citigroup 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mayo Citigroup can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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, Mayo Citigroup 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) .
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 Mayo Citigroup business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mayo Citigroup has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mayo Citigroup 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B) 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 Mayo Citigroup needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.