The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
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Case Study Description of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights
Banking is an international business; both information and capital flow relatively unimpeded across international borders. Banking institutions' information stores have increased dramatically with the spread of computers, and these institutions protect data inside their firewalls from outside eyes, and from disaster, through establishing multiple secure data repositories. However, access to banks' databases is increasingly sought by governments and governance institutions, and restrictions are tightening on moving data across borders. Probably the most prominent example of both trends involves European Union-domiciled cross-border banking business. A key legal reason for resulting issues hinges on differing views of privacy rights: the European Union enshrines privacy as a human right, while the United States empowers rights of free speech over privacy. These differing approaches to privacy rights have caused a cross-Atlantic conflict for global banks. Caught between competing, conflicting regulations, banks' capacity to move information and to comply with governments' demands for it have become restricted. This restriction is happening as governments seek increased access to banks' information for purposes of financial information statecraft--the notion that countries can influence other governments' policies and actions through data.
Swot Analysis of "The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights" written by Travis W. Selmier II, Michelle Frasher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Privacy Governments facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Privacy Governments, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Privacy Governments
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 Privacy Governments
Strengths The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Privacy Governments in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Privacy Governments is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Privacy Governments 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 Privacy Governments in the sector have low bargaining power. The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Privacy Governments to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Privacy Governments has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Privacy Governments 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Privacy Governments to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Privacy Governments to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Privacy Governments is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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
– Privacy Governments has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Privacy Governments is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Privacy Governments 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 Privacy Governments in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights, it seems that the employees of Privacy Governments don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Travis W. Selmier II, Michelle Frasher suggests that, Privacy Governments 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Privacy Governments 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Privacy Governments, firm in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Privacy Governments is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Privacy Governments needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Privacy Governments to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Privacy Governments is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Privacy Governments supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Privacy Governments vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Privacy Governments has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Privacy Governments 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.
Opportunities The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights | 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Privacy Governments 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Privacy Governments 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Privacy Governments to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Privacy Governments has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Privacy Governments to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights case study. Privacy Governments can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Privacy Governments 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.
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 Privacy Governments in the consumer business. Now Privacy Governments can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Privacy Governments 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Privacy Governments 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Privacy Governments 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 Privacy Governments to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Privacy Governments 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.
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. Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Privacy Governments 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.
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 Privacy Governments business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Privacy Governments needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Privacy Governments 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.
Increasing wage structure of Privacy Governments
– 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 Privacy Governments.
Environmental challenges
– Privacy Governments 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. Privacy Governments 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Privacy Governments with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights, Privacy Governments may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– Privacy Governments 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Privacy Governments 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Privacy Governments 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 The Cross-Atlantic Tussle over Financial Data and Privacy Rights 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 Privacy Governments needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.