Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?
China's accession to the World Trade Organization promised to open up its booming mobile and fixed-line telecommunications market. Although steps have been taken in that general direction, full and true compliance is still an issue. It needs an independent telecommunications regulator or the current regulator, Ministry of Information Industry (MII), must stop meddling in company affairs. Legislation must allow for real foreign direct investment to take place.
Swot Analysis of "Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?" written by M. Bushehri, Kasra Mottahedeh includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Telecommunications Regulator facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Global strategy, Government and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Telecommunications Regulator, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Telecommunications Regulator 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Telecommunications Regulator
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 Telecommunications Regulator
Strengths Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Telecommunications Regulator in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Telecommunications Regulator has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Telecommunications Regulator to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Telecommunications Regulator is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Telecommunications Regulator 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 Telecommunications Regulator is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Telecommunications Regulator is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Telecommunications Regulator is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Telecommunications Regulator to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Telecommunications Regulator to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Telecommunications Regulator has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Telecommunications Regulator in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Telecommunications Regulator is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Organizational Resilience of Telecommunications Regulator
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Telecommunications Regulator does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Telecommunications Regulator is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Telecommunications Regulator needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Telecommunications Regulator to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, M. Bushehri, Kasra Mottahedeh suggests that, Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Telecommunications Regulator 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. Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?, in the dynamic environment Telecommunications Regulator has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Telecommunications Regulator has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Telecommunications Regulator 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
– Telecommunications Regulator 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 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 Telecommunications Regulator supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Telecommunications Regulator vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Telecommunications Regulator has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? | 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? are -
Manufacturing automation
– Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Telecommunications Regulator 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Telecommunications Regulator to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Telecommunications Regulator in the consumer business. Now Telecommunications Regulator 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 Telecommunications Regulator has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Telecommunications Regulator to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? case study. Telecommunications Regulator can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Telecommunications Regulator 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 Telecommunications Regulator to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Telecommunications Regulator is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Telecommunications Regulator 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.
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 Telecommunications Regulator to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Loyalty marketing
– Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Telecommunications Regulator can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Telecommunications Regulator to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? are -
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. Telecommunications Regulator needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust?, Telecommunications Regulator may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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. Telecommunications Regulator can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Telecommunications Regulator with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Telecommunications Regulator in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Telecommunications Regulator 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. Telecommunications Regulator can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Telecommunications Regulator has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Telecommunications Regulator 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.
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 Telecommunications Regulator.
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. Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Telecommunications Regulator 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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 Post-WTO Regulation of China's Telecommunications Sector: Boom or Bust? 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 Telecommunications Regulator needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
