Shark Mitigation Systems (SM8) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shark Mitigation Systems (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shark Mitigation Systems is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shark Mitigation Systems

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shark Mitigation Systems can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shark Mitigation Systems, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shark Mitigation Systems
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shark Mitigation Systems
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Communications Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shark Mitigation Systems

---

Strengths of Shark Mitigation Systems | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Shark Mitigation Systems are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Shark Mitigation Systems in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Shark Mitigation Systems has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shark Mitigation Systems to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Shark Mitigation Systems

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shark Mitigation Systems does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Learning organization

- Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shark Mitigation Systems emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Shark Mitigation Systems in Communications Equipment industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communications Equipment industry

– Shark Mitigation Systems has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shark Mitigation Systems to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communications Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shark Mitigation Systems to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Shark Mitigation Systems has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shark Mitigation Systems has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Shark Mitigation Systems has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Communications Equipment industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Shark Mitigation Systems have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Shark Mitigation Systems has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Shark Mitigation Systems staying ahead in the Communications Equipment industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Strong track record of project management in the Communications Equipment industry

– Shark Mitigation Systems 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

– Shark Mitigation Systems is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in Australia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Australia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

---

---

Weaknesses of Shark Mitigation Systems | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Shark Mitigation Systems are -

Lack of clear differentiation of Shark Mitigation Systems products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shark Mitigation Systems needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

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 Shark Mitigation Systems supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shark Mitigation Systems is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shark Mitigation Systems vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Skills based hiring in Communications Equipment industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Employees’ less understanding of Shark Mitigation Systems strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shark Mitigation Systems has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry over the last five years. Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Shark Mitigation Systems has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Communications Equipment industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Communications Equipment industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Communications Equipment industry.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Communications Equipment industry using digital technology.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Shark Mitigation Systems is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communications Equipment industry, but Shark Mitigation Systems needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shark Mitigation Systems to focus more on services in the Communications Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Shark Mitigation Systems needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Communications Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Shark Mitigation Systems can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shark Mitigation Systems is planning to shift buying processes online.

---

Shark Mitigation Systems Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Shark Mitigation Systems are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Shark Mitigation Systems has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Communications Equipment industry. This can help Shark Mitigation Systems to build a more holistic ecosystem for Shark Mitigation Systems products in the Communications Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Shark Mitigation Systems can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communications Equipment 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shark Mitigation Systems in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communications Equipment industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Communications Equipment industry.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shark Mitigation Systems is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shark Mitigation Systems can utilize new technology in the field of Communications Equipment 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 Communications Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shark Mitigation Systems 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. Shark Mitigation Systems 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shark Mitigation Systems can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shark Mitigation Systems operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communications Equipment sector.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Shark Mitigation Systems has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Communications Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shark Mitigation Systems to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shark Mitigation Systems to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Communications Equipment industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shark Mitigation Systems in the Communications Equipment industry. Now Shark Mitigation Systems can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

---

Threats Shark Mitigation Systems External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Shark Mitigation Systems 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. Shark Mitigation Systems will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems prominent markets.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shark Mitigation Systems in Communications Equipment industry. The Communications Equipment 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 Shark Mitigation Systems

– 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 Shark Mitigation Systems.

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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Communications Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shark Mitigation Systems can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Communications Equipment industry regulations.

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 Shark Mitigation Systems business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Communications Equipment industry and other sectors.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Shark Mitigation Systems is facing in Communications Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Shark Mitigation Systems in the Communications Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shark Mitigation Systems may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communications Equipment sector.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Shark Mitigation Systems has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communications Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shark Mitigation Systems needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communications Equipment 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shark Mitigation Systems Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems 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 Shark Mitigation Systems needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---