SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Malayan Banking (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Malayan Banking is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Malayan Banking can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Malayan Banking, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Malayan Banking
2. Improving business portfolio management of Malayan Banking
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Money Center Banks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Malayan Banking
Strengths of Malayan Banking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Malayan Banking are -
Digital Transformation in Money Center Banks industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Malayan Banking digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Malayan Banking 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Malayan Banking in Money Center Banks industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Malayan Banking has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Malayan Banking staying ahead in the Money Center Banks industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Malayan Banking is one of the most innovative firm in Money Center Banks sector.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Money Center Banks industry
– Malayan Banking has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Malayan Banking to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Money Center Banks industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Malayan Banking to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Malayan Banking in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Malayan Banking has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Malayan Banking to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Malayan Banking has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Malayan Banking to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Malayan Banking emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Money Center Banks industry
– Malayan Banking is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Malayan Banking has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Malayan Banking 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Malayan Banking is present in almost all the verticals within the Money Center Banks industry. This has provided Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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.
Weaknesses of Malayan Banking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Malayan Banking are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Malayan Banking has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Money Center Banks industry over the last five years. Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Money Center Banks industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Malayan Banking can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Malayan Banking is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Malayan Banking is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Malayan Banking to provide better information regarding Money Center Banks products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Malayan Banking supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Malayan Banking is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Malayan Banking vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Malayan Banking products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Malayan Banking needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Malayan Banking ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Malayan Banking still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Money Center Banks industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Malayan Banking has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ less understanding of Malayan Banking strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Malayan Banking 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Malayan Banking has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Money Center Banks industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Malayan Banking, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Money Center Banks 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 Malayan Banking is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Money Center Banks industry, but Malayan Banking needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Malayan Banking to focus more on services in the Money Center Banks industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Malayan Banking 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.
Malayan Banking Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Malayan Banking are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Malayan Banking has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Money Center Banks sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Malayan Banking to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Malayan Banking to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Malayan Banking can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Malayan Banking operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Money Center Banks sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Malayan Banking can develop new processes and procedures in Money Center Banks 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Malayan Banking 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Money Center Banks industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Malayan Banking in the Money Center Banks industry. Now Malayan Banking can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Malayan Banking can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Money Center Banks 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Malayan Banking has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Money Center Banks industry. This can help Malayan Banking to build a more holistic ecosystem for Malayan Banking products in the Money Center Banks industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Malayan Banking in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Money Center Banks industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Malayan Banking can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Money Center Banks 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Money Center Banks industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Malayan Banking can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Malayan Banking External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Malayan Banking 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.
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 Malayan Banking in the Money Center Banks sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Malayan Banking needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Money Center Banks industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Malayan Banking may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Money Center Banks sector.
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 Malayan Banking business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Malayan Banking.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Malayan Banking 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 Money Center Banks industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Malayan Banking is facing in Money Center Banks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Malayan Banking 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. Malayan Banking can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Money Center Banks industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Malayan Banking in Money Center Banks industry. The Money Center Banks 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Malayan Banking 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 Money Center Banks industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Money Center Banks industry are lowering. It can presents Malayan Banking with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Money Center Banks sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Malayan Banking 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 Money Center Banks industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Malayan Banking Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking 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 Malayan Banking needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
