Swot Analysis of "Jefferson County (E): Postscript" written by Daniel B. Bergstresser, Randolph B. Cohen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 213056 Postscript facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jefferson County (E): Postscript case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Policy, Strategic planning and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jefferson County (E): Postscript casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jefferson County (E): Postscript
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jefferson County (E): Postscript case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 213056 Postscript, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 213056 Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jefferson County (E): Postscript case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 213056 Postscript
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 213056 Postscript
Strengths Jefferson County (E): Postscript | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 213056 Postscript in Jefferson County (E): Postscript Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 213056 Postscript in the sector have low bargaining power. Jefferson County (E): Postscript has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 213056 Postscript to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– 213056 Postscript is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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
– 213056 Postscript has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 213056 Postscript to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– 213056 Postscript is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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.
Training and development
– 213056 Postscript has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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.
Learning organization
- 213056 Postscript 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 213056 Postscript is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jefferson County (E): Postscript Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 213056 Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 213056 Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of 213056 Postscript
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 213056 Postscript does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– 213056 Postscript is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Jefferson County (E): Postscript Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Jefferson County (E): Postscript firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 213056 Postscript to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 213056 Postscript to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Jefferson County (E): Postscript | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jefferson County (E): Postscript are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 213056 Postscript 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 213056 Postscript is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 213056 Postscript 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, 213056 Postscript 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 213056 Postscript, firm in the HBR case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– 213056 Postscript 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 213056 Postscript 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 213056 Postscript 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. 213056 Postscript 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 213056 Postscript products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 213056 Postscript needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 213056 Postscript has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Jefferson County (E): Postscript | 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 213056 Postscript to increase its market reach. 213056 Postscript 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.
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. 213056 Postscript can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 213056 Postscript is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 213056 Postscript 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 213056 Postscript 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 213056 Postscript 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
– 213056 Postscript can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Developing new processes and practices
– 213056 Postscript can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 213056 Postscript 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 213056 Postscript can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 213056 Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 213056 Postscript to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 213056 Postscript can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 213056 Postscript operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Loyalty marketing
– 213056 Postscript 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.
Threats Jefferson County (E): Postscript External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 213056 Postscript 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.
Increasing wage structure of 213056 Postscript
– 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 213056 Postscript.
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. 213056 Postscript needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 213056 Postscript is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– 213056 Postscript 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 213056 Postscript can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Jefferson County (E): Postscript .
Consumer confidence and its impact on 213056 Postscript 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.
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. 213056 Postscript 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 213056 Postscript with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 213056 Postscript 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.
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. 213056 Postscript can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 Jefferson County (E): Postscript 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 213056 Postscript needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
