Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC (AJIT) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Financial Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Misc. Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC
Strengths of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Financial Services industry
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Misc. Financial Services industry. The technology infrastructure of United Kingdom 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Financial Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Training and development
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is one of the leading players in the Misc. Financial Services industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Financial Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Financial Services industry. This has provided Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Financial Services industry
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Financial Services industry over the last five years. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Financial Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Financial Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United Kingdom, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Financial Services 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry, but Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to focus more on services in the Misc. Financial Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
High dependence on Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Financial Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Misc. Financial Services industry using digital technology.
Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC are -
Manufacturing automation
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Financial Services 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Financial Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Financial Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Financial Services sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Financial Services 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Financial Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Financial Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC in the Misc. Financial Services industry. Now Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Financial Services industry. This can help Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC to build a more holistic ecosystem for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC products in the Misc. Financial Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC are -
Increasing wage structure of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC
– 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Financial Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Financial Services 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Financial Services industry are lowering. It can presents Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Financial Services sector.
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.
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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC in the Misc. Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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.
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. Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Financial Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Misc. Financial Services industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Financial Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC in Misc. Financial Services industry. The Misc. Financial Services 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC 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 Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust PLC needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
