Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board
The case presents the opposition by a leading institutional investor in Goldman Sachs to the re-election of Jim Johnson to the board of directors of the company. The investor, Sequoia Fund, opposes the re-election citing Jim Johnson's prior track record as the CEO of Fannie Mae, which has been criticized for its role in the financial crisis and for serving on the compensation committees of two companies that experienced option backdating scandals. The case allows students to discuss issues surrounding director performance assessment, director elections, investor engagement with companies, and director reputation.
Swot Analysis of "Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board" written by Suraj Srinivasan, Kelly Baker includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Election Jim facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Corporate communications, Ethics and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Election Jim, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Election Jim
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 Election Jim
Strengths Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Election Jim in Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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
– Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Election Jim to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Election Jim to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Election Jim in the sector have low bargaining power. Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Election Jim to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Election Jim 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.
High brand equity
– Election Jim has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Election Jim to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Election Jim has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Election Jim 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Election Jim digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Election Jim 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Election Jim in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Election Jim is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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)
– Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board - 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
– Election Jim 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 Election Jim in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Election Jim is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Election Jim needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Election Jim to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Election Jim 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 - Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Suraj Srinivasan, Kelly Baker suggests that, Election Jim 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board, it seems that the employees of Election Jim 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Election Jim 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Election Jim is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Election Jim 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board, is just above the industry average. Election Jim 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Election Jim 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board, in the dynamic environment Election Jim has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Election Jim has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Election Jim 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.
Opportunities Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board | 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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. Election Jim can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Election Jim to increase its market reach. Election Jim 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 Election Jim has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Election Jim to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board case study. Election Jim can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Election Jim 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Election Jim 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Election Jim is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Election Jim 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Election Jim to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Election Jim can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Election Jim in the consumer business. Now Election Jim 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 Election Jim 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Election Jim 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Election Jim 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.
Threats Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board .
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. Election Jim 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.
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 wage structure of Election Jim
– 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 Election Jim.
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 Election Jim business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Election Jim has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Election Jim 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Election Jim is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Election Jim 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board, Election Jim 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 .
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 Election Jim in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline 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. Election Jim can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Election Jim 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Election Jim 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Jim Johnson's Re-election to the Goldman Sachs Board 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 Election Jim needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
