SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Dream Incubator Inc (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Dream Incubator Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dream Incubator Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Dream Incubator Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dream Incubator Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Dream Incubator Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dream Incubator Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Insurance (Accident & Health) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dream Incubator Inc
Strengths of Dream Incubator Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Innovation driven organization
– Dream Incubator Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
Organizational Resilience of Dream Incubator Inc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Dream Incubator Inc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dream Incubator Inc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dream Incubator 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– Dream Incubator Inc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dream Incubator Inc is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
High brand equity
– Dream Incubator Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Dream Incubator Inc has one of the best training and development program in Financial industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dream Incubator Inc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Dream Incubator Inc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dream Incubator Inc in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Dream Incubator Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dream Incubator Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dream Incubator Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Dream Incubator Inc staying ahead in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– Dream Incubator Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dream Incubator Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Dream Incubator Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Dream Incubator Inc is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Dream Incubator Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dream Incubator Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Dream Incubator Inc to provide better information regarding Insurance (Accident & Health) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dream Incubator Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, but Dream Incubator Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dream Incubator Inc to focus more on services in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dream Incubator Inc has some of the most successful models in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Dream Incubator Inc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dream Incubator Inc 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry using digital technology.
High dependence on Dream Incubator Inc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Dream Incubator Inc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Dream Incubator Inc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Dream Incubator Inc, in the dynamic environment of Insurance (Accident & Health) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dream Incubator Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Dream Incubator Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dream Incubator Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This can help Dream Incubator Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for Dream Incubator Inc products in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dream Incubator Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dream Incubator Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dream Incubator Inc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dream Incubator Inc can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Accident & Health) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Dream Incubator 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. Dream Incubator 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.
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 Dream Incubator 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dream Incubator Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dream Incubator Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dream Incubator Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Dream Incubator Inc in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Now Dream Incubator Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Dream Incubator Inc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Dream Incubator Inc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Dream Incubator Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dream Incubator Inc 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 Dream Incubator Inc prominent markets.
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 Dream Incubator Inc in the Insurance (Accident & Health) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dream Incubator Inc is facing in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dream Incubator Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dream Incubator Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
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.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Dream Incubator Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) 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. Dream Incubator Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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. Dream Incubator 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Accident & Health) industry are lowering. It can presents Dream Incubator Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Dream Incubator Inc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
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 Dream Incubator Inc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dream Incubator Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
