Martin Smith: May 2000 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Martin Smith: May 2000
A new associate at a venture capital firm must choose which of three potential investments to recommend to the firm's partners. Each potential investment has strengths and drawbacks.
Swot Analysis of "Martin Smith: May 2000" written by Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Drawbacks Martin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Martin Smith: May 2000 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Venture capital and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Martin Smith: May 2000 casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Martin Smith: May 2000
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Martin Smith: May 2000 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Drawbacks Martin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Drawbacks Martin 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Martin Smith: May 2000 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Drawbacks Martin
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 Drawbacks Martin
Strengths Martin Smith: May 2000 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Drawbacks Martin in Martin Smith: May 2000 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Drawbacks Martin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Drawbacks Martin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Drawbacks Martin 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Drawbacks Martin 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Drawbacks Martin in the sector have low bargaining power. Martin Smith: May 2000 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Drawbacks Martin to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Drawbacks Martin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Finance & Accounting field
– Drawbacks Martin 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 Drawbacks Martin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Drawbacks Martin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Martin Smith: May 2000 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Drawbacks Martin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Martin Smith: May 2000 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Drawbacks Martin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Martin Smith: May 2000 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Drawbacks Martin 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Martin Smith: May 2000 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Drawbacks Martin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Drawbacks Martin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Drawbacks Martin 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.
Weaknesses Martin Smith: May 2000 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Martin Smith: May 2000 are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Drawbacks Martin is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Martin Smith: May 2000 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Drawbacks Martin 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Drawbacks Martin 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Drawbacks Martin, firm in the HBR case study Martin Smith: May 2000 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon suggests that, Drawbacks Martin 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Drawbacks Martin 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Drawbacks Martin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Drawbacks Martin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Drawbacks Martin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Drawbacks Martin 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Martin Smith: May 2000 HBR case study mentions - Drawbacks Martin 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Martin Smith: May 2000, in the dynamic environment Drawbacks Martin has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Drawbacks Martin has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Drawbacks Martin has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Martin Smith: May 2000 | 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Drawbacks Martin 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 Drawbacks Martin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Drawbacks Martin can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Martin Smith: May 2000 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Drawbacks Martin 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Drawbacks Martin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Martin Smith: May 2000 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Drawbacks Martin can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Drawbacks Martin operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Drawbacks Martin 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, Martin Smith: May 2000, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Drawbacks Martin in the consumer business. Now Drawbacks Martin can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Drawbacks Martin 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Drawbacks Martin 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Drawbacks Martin 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Drawbacks Martin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Drawbacks Martin 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Drawbacks Martin 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Drawbacks Martin can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Drawbacks Martin can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Martin Smith: May 2000 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Martin Smith: May 2000 are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Drawbacks Martin is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Drawbacks Martin
– 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 Drawbacks Martin.
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. Drawbacks Martin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Drawbacks Martin in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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. Drawbacks Martin can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Drawbacks Martin.
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 Drawbacks Martin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Drawbacks Martin 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.
Environmental challenges
– Drawbacks Martin 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. Drawbacks Martin can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Drawbacks Martin in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Drawbacks Martin 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Martin Smith: May 2000 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 Drawbacks Martin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
