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Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration


Describes the acquisition of Nat West by Royal Bank of Scotland. Describes the strategic rationale for the acquisition and the process by which the integration of the two banks was accomplished. The acquisition is remarkable for how successful it was, given the typical high rate of failure of similar acquisitions. Teaching Purpose: To teach about the general lessons of successfully implementing mergers and acquisitions.

Authors :: Nitin Nohria, James Weber

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Mergers & acquisitions, Strategic planning, Strategy execution, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration" written by Nitin Nohria, James Weber includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Scotland Royal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Strategic planning, Strategy execution and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Scotland Royal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Scotland Royal
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 Scotland Royal




Strengths Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Scotland Royal in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Scotland Royal in the sector have low bargaining power. Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Scotland Royal to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Scotland Royal 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Scotland Royal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Scotland Royal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– Scotland Royal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– Scotland Royal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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.

Organizational Resilience of Scotland Royal

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Scotland Royal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Scotland Royal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Scotland Royal 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.

Learning organization

- Scotland Royal 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 Scotland Royal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Scotland Royal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Scotland Royal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.






Weaknesses Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration are -

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Scotland Royal 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Scotland Royal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Scotland Royal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Scotland Royal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nitin Nohria, James Weber suggests that, Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Scotland Royal is planning to shift buying processes online.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Scotland Royal 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Scotland Royal 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Scotland Royal has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration HBR case study mentions - Scotland Royal 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration, it seems that the employees of Scotland Royal 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Scotland Royal 's lucrative customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Scotland Royal 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. Scotland Royal 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.




Opportunities Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration | 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Scotland Royal 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Scotland Royal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Scotland Royal can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

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 Scotland Royal in the consumer business. Now Scotland Royal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Scotland Royal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Scotland Royal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration case study. Scotland Royal 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 Scotland Royal 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.

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. Scotland Royal 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 Scotland Royal to increase its market reach. Scotland Royal 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.

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. Scotland Royal 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. Scotland Royal 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.

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 Scotland Royal to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Scotland Royal 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Scotland Royal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Scotland Royal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Scotland Royal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.




Threats Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration are -

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Scotland Royal is facing in Finance & Accounting 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. Scotland Royal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Scotland Royal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Scotland Royal.

Increasing wage structure of Scotland Royal

– 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 Scotland Royal.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration, Scotland Royal 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 .

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. Scotland Royal 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Scotland Royal 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration .

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 Scotland Royal in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Regulatory challenges

– Scotland Royal 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.

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.

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 Scotland Royal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Scotland Royal 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration 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 Scotland Royal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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