Swot Analysis of "Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D)" written by Harold F. Hogan Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Guaranty Nigeria facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Ethics, Organizational structure, Regulation, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guaranty Nigeria, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guaranty Nigeria
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 Guaranty Nigeria
Strengths Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guaranty Nigeria in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Guaranty Nigeria 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 Harold F. Hogan Jr. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Guaranty Nigeria is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Guaranty Nigeria is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Guaranty Nigeria has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Guaranty Nigeria 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
- Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Nigeria is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Guaranty Nigeria digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Guaranty Nigeria is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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
– Guaranty Nigeria has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Guaranty Nigeria to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Guaranty Nigeria 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 - Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Guaranty Nigeria products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Guaranty Nigeria needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) HBR case study mentions - Guaranty Nigeria 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Harold F. Hogan Jr. suggests that, Guaranty Nigeria 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.
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 Guaranty Nigeria supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Guaranty Nigeria vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D), 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Nigeria has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Guaranty Nigeria is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Guaranty Nigeria needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Guaranty Nigeria to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guaranty Nigeria is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Guaranty Nigeria, firm in the HBR case study Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D), in the dynamic environment Guaranty Nigeria has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Guaranty Nigeria has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) | 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Guaranty Nigeria 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. Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Guaranty Nigeria to increase its market reach. Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Guaranty Nigeria 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, Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Nigeria to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guaranty Nigeria has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Guaranty Nigeria to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) case study. Guaranty Nigeria can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Guaranty Nigeria 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
– Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Nigeria in the consumer business. Now Guaranty Nigeria can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Guaranty Nigeria can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Guaranty Nigeria can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) are -
Environmental challenges
– Guaranty Nigeria 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. Guaranty Nigeria can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Guaranty Nigeria needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People 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. Guaranty Nigeria 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 wage structure of Guaranty Nigeria
– 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 Guaranty Nigeria.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guaranty Nigeria 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Guaranty Nigeria with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Guaranty Nigeria can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Guaranty Nigeria 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 Guaranty Nigeria is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Guaranty Nigeria has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Guaranty Nigeria 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.
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 Guaranty Nigeria in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Guaranty Nigeria 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (D) 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 Guaranty Nigeria needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
