Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance
Discusses two families that started out as friends and wound up in court after disagreeing over a business deal from which both stood to gain. Most disputes can eventually be resolved by courts, attorneys, and time. But the resolutions may spawn a second set of problems. These, too, must be fully weighed and resolved. The challenge is to decide when it is time to put an end to an episode, to close the books both financially and emotionally. Settlements provide benefits for both sides in a dispute. But the choices they present may not always be a clear call. For family businesses, the decisions are not always easy, and there can be more than one way to measure true cost.
Authors :: Richard Mandel, John Saber, Mark Potter, Chris Hennessey
Swot Analysis of "Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance" written by Richard Mandel, John Saber, Mark Potter, Chris Hennessey includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Resolved Books facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Negotiations, Regulation and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Resolved Books, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Resolved Books 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Resolved Books
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 Resolved Books
Strengths Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Resolved Books in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Resolved Books is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Resolved Books has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Resolved Books 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Resolved Books in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Resolved Books is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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
– Resolved Books 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Resolved Books 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 Resolved Books is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Resolved Books in the sector have low bargaining power. Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Resolved Books to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Resolved Books 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 Richard Mandel, John Saber, Mark Potter, Chris Hennessey 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.
High brand equity
– Resolved Books has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Resolved Books to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Resolved Books
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Resolved Books does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Resolved Books 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance, it seems that the employees of Resolved Books 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Resolved Books 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, Resolved Books 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance, is just above the industry average. Resolved Books 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.
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 Resolved Books supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Resolved Books vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance, in the dynamic environment Resolved Books has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Resolved Books 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, Resolved Books 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard Mandel, John Saber, Mark Potter, Chris Hennessey suggests that, Resolved Books 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Resolved Books is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance HBR case study mentions - Resolved Books 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Resolved Books has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance | 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Resolved Books 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, Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Resolved Books can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Resolved Books 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Resolved Books in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Resolved Books to increase its market reach. Resolved Books 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 Resolved Books has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Resolved Books to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance case study. Resolved Books can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Resolved Books 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Resolved Books can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Resolved Books can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Resolved Books operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Resolved Books can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Resolved Books 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Resolved Books can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Resolved Books 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.
Threats Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Resolved Books with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Resolved Books 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Resolved Books is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Resolved Books
– 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 Resolved Books.
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. Resolved Books can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Resolved Books 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. Resolved Books can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Resolved Books 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Resolved Books 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Resolved Books has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Resolved Books 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Resolved Books 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance .
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 Resolved Books 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. Resolved Books needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Closing the Books: A Tale of Friends, Family and Finance 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 Resolved Books needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.