Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A)
The company, once an outstanding Japan-based global leader in electronics and major appliances, suffered poor performance during the 1990s. Kunio Nakamura became CEO in 2001 and sought to transform the company in a fundamental way. Examines the company's history, distinct management system, and culture as well as the challenges facing Nakamura. Also examines his initial efforts.
Swot Analysis of "Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A)" written by Michael Y. Yoshino, Yukihiko Endo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nakamura Kunio facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Leadership, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nakamura Kunio, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nakamura Kunio 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nakamura Kunio
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 Nakamura Kunio
Strengths Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nakamura Kunio in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nakamura Kunio to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nakamura Kunio to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Nakamura Kunio 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 Nakamura Kunio is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nakamura Kunio 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nakamura Kunio is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Nakamura Kunio has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nakamura Kunio to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Nakamura Kunio is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nakamura Kunio is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nakamura Kunio in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Nakamura Kunio 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 Michael Y. Yoshino, Yukihiko Endo can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nakamura Kunio 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nakamura Kunio in the sector have low bargaining power. Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nakamura Kunio to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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.
Weaknesses Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nakamura Kunio has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Nakamura Kunio has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nakamura Kunio is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Nakamura Kunio needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nakamura Kunio to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael Y. Yoshino, Yukihiko Endo suggests that, Nakamura Kunio 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nakamura Kunio 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A), 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nakamura Kunio has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A), it seems that the employees of Nakamura Kunio 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nakamura Kunio is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Nakamura Kunio 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nakamura Kunio 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.
Opportunities Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) | 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nakamura Kunio 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nakamura Kunio 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nakamura Kunio 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.
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 Nakamura Kunio in the consumer business. Now Nakamura Kunio 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 Nakamura Kunio has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nakamura Kunio to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) case study. Nakamura Kunio can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nakamura Kunio 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, Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nakamura Kunio can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Nakamura Kunio 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nakamura Kunio to increase its market reach. Nakamura Kunio 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nakamura Kunio is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nakamura Kunio 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nakamura Kunio 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nakamura Kunio can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) are -
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. Nakamura Kunio 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.
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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A), Nakamura Kunio 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 .
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. Nakamura Kunio needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People 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 Nakamura Kunio with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nakamura Kunio 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nakamura Kunio 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nakamura Kunio is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Nakamura Kunio 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.
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.
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 Nakamura Kunio.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nakamura Kunio 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.
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 Nakamura Kunio in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Transformation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2005 (A) 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 Nakamura Kunio needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
