The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries
Process and information technology changes in organizations are not always voluntary and motivated by strategic goals. Instead, they may be imposed on organizations by regulatory bodies and certifying agencies. This teaching case focuses on one company's multi-year journey of making process and information technology changes so as to comply with a new set of regulations known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Even though SOX compliance work focuses on designing, implementing, and testing internal controls, these controls are nothing but activities designed to ensure that processes implicated in the production of financial information are completed correctly and that the financial representations they generate are reliable. Thus, despite its emphasis on internal controls, accounting and auditing, this teaching case provides students with insights into compliance-related process improvement and system integration in general.
Swot Analysis of "The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries" written by Ulrike Schultze includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sox Compliance facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Business processes and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sox Compliance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sox Compliance 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sox Compliance
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sox Compliance
Strengths The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sox Compliance in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sox Compliance 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 The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sox Compliance has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sox Compliance 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sox Compliance 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sox Compliance in the sector have low bargaining power. The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sox Compliance to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Sox Compliance 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 Sox Compliance is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sox Compliance is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sox Compliance to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sox Compliance to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sox Compliance 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Sox Compliance is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Ulrike Schultze can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Innovation driven organization
– Sox Compliance is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Sox Compliance 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 Sox Compliance in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Sox Compliance is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sox Compliance 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. Sox Compliance 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.
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 Sox Compliance supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sox Compliance vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sox Compliance 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries, in the dynamic environment Sox Compliance has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sox Compliance has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries, is just above the industry average. Sox Compliance 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, Sox Compliance 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sox Compliance 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sox Compliance 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sox Compliance is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Sox Compliance needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sox Compliance to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries HBR case study mentions - Sox Compliance 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.
Opportunities The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries | 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sox Compliance 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 Sox Compliance to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sox Compliance 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sox Compliance 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 Sox Compliance can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sox Compliance 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
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 Sox Compliance 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sox Compliance can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sox Compliance 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sox Compliance 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.
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. Sox Compliance can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sox Compliance has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sox Compliance to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries case study. Sox Compliance can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sox Compliance to increase its market reach. Sox Compliance 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sox Compliance can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sox Compliance 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. Sox Compliance 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries are -
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 Sox Compliance in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sox Compliance 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sox Compliance has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sox Compliance needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sox Compliance in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sox Compliance 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 The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sox Compliance 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sox Compliance with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Sox Compliance 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Sox Compliance
– 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 Sox Compliance.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sox Compliance is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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. Sox Compliance needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sox Compliance can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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 SOX Compliance Journey At Trinity Industries 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 Sox Compliance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.