Swot Analysis of ""Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version" written by David S. Scharfstein includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bancshares Huntington facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bancshares Huntington, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bancshares Huntington 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bancshares Huntington
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 Bancshares Huntington
Strengths "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bancshares Huntington in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bancshares Huntington 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bancshares Huntington 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Bancshares Huntington is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Bancshares Huntington has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bancshares Huntington to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bancshares Huntington is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bancshares Huntington 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bancshares Huntington digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bancshares Huntington 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Bancshares Huntington is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Bancshares Huntington has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bancshares Huntington 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 Bancshares Huntington in the sector have low bargaining power. "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bancshares Huntington to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bancshares Huntington to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bancshares Huntington to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version are -
Need for greater diversity
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bancshares Huntington is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Bancshares Huntington needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bancshares Huntington to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bancshares Huntington 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 Bancshares Huntington has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bancshares Huntington is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bancshares Huntington, firm in the HBR case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bancshares Huntington is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bancshares Huntington 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. Bancshares Huntington 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bancshares Huntington products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bancshares Huntington needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version HBR case study mentions - Bancshares Huntington 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version, is just above the industry average. Bancshares Huntington 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.
Opportunities "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version | 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bancshares Huntington 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bancshares Huntington has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bancshares Huntington to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version case study. Bancshares Huntington can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bancshares Huntington can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bancshares Huntington 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bancshares Huntington can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bancshares Huntington 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. Bancshares Huntington can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bancshares Huntington 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.
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 Bancshares Huntington in the consumer business. Now Bancshares Huntington can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bancshares Huntington 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bancshares Huntington to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Bancshares Huntington can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
Threats "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version are -
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. Bancshares Huntington can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Bancshares Huntington business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bancshares Huntington in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Environmental challenges
– Bancshares Huntington 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. Bancshares Huntington can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bancshares Huntington 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bancshares Huntington 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.
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. Bancshares Huntington needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Bancshares Huntington 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version, Bancshares Huntington 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 Bancshares Huntington in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 "Fair Play" at Huntington Bancshares, Chinese Version 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 Bancshares Huntington needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.