K&O Energy Group Inc (1663) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Oil & Gas Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for K&O Energy Group Inc (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , K&O Energy Group Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of K&O Energy Group Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that K&O Energy Group Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the K&O Energy Group Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of K&O Energy Group Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of K&O Energy Group Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Oil & Gas Operations sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of K&O Energy Group Inc
Strengths of K&O Energy Group Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of K&O Energy Group Inc are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– K&O Energy Group Inc is one of the leading players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in Japan. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Japan. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Oil & Gas Operations
– K&O Energy Group Inc is one of the leading players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled K&O Energy Group Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
Analytics focus
– K&O Energy Group Inc 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry. The technology infrastructure of Japan is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of K&O Energy Group Inc in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. K&O Energy Group Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps K&O Energy Group Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Oil & Gas Operations industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For K&O Energy Group Inc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
Organizational Resilience of K&O Energy Group Inc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing K&O Energy Group Inc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of K&O Energy Group Inc in Oil & Gas Operations industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– K&O Energy Group Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled K&O Energy Group Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped K&O Energy Group Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– K&O Energy Group Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Oil & Gas Operations sector.
Learning organization
- K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at K&O Energy Group Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– K&O Energy Group Inc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Oil & Gas Operations industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of K&O Energy Group Inc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of K&O Energy Group Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of K&O Energy Group Inc are -
Employees’ less understanding of K&O Energy Group Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, K&O Energy Group Inc has high operating costs in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract K&O Energy Group Inc lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, K&O Energy Group Inc needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though K&O Energy Group Inc has some of the most successful models in the Oil & Gas Operations industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. K&O Energy Group Inc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of K&O Energy Group Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Oil & Gas Operations industry. 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of K&O Energy Group Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry, but K&O Energy Group Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help K&O Energy Group Inc to focus more on services in the Oil & Gas Operations industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 K&O Energy Group Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, K&O Energy Group Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left K&O Energy Group Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of K&O Energy Group Inc is just above the Oil & Gas Operations industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, K&O Energy Group Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help K&O Energy Group Inc to provide better information regarding Oil & Gas Operations products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at K&O Energy Group Inc, in the dynamic environment of Oil & Gas Operations industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. K&O Energy Group Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of K&O Energy Group Inc products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, K&O Energy Group Inc needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
K&O Energy Group Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of K&O Energy Group Inc are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, K&O Energy Group Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that K&O Energy Group Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Oil & Gas Operations sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Oil & Gas Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. K&O Energy Group Inc 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. K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects K&O Energy Group Inc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– K&O Energy Group Inc can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Oil & Gas Operations sector. 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for K&O Energy Group Inc in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. Now K&O Energy Group Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for K&O Energy Group Inc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Oil & Gas Operations industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– K&O Energy Group Inc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Oil & Gas Operations industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at K&O Energy Group Inc can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Oil & Gas Operations industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of K&O Energy Group Inc are -
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Oil & Gas Operations industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. K&O Energy Group Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of K&O Energy Group Inc
– 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 K&O Energy Group Inc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Oil & Gas Operations industry are lowering. It can presents K&O Energy Group Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Oil & Gas Operations sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that K&O Energy Group Inc is facing in Oil & Gas Operations 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
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 K&O Energy Group Inc in the Oil & Gas Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– K&O Energy Group Inc 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry.
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. K&O Energy Group Inc 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on K&O Energy Group Inc 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– K&O Energy Group Inc 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– K&O Energy Group Inc 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. K&O Energy Group Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Oil & Gas Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of K&O Energy Group Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc 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 K&O Energy Group Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.