Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Raffles Education Corporation Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Schools sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
Strengths of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Schools industry. This has provided Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Training and development
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Services 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
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is one of the leading players in the Schools industry in Singapore. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Singapore. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Schools industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Organizational Resilience of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Raffles Education Corporation Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Schools
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is one of the leading players in the Schools industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Schools industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Raffles Education Corporation Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd in Schools industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Schools industry
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Schools industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Schools sector.
Learning organization
- Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Schools industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Raffles Education Corporation Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Weaknesses of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is just above the Schools industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Schools industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Schools industry, but Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to focus more on services in the Schools industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Schools industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring in Schools industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is one of the leading players in the Schools industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Schools industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Schools industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ less understanding of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Schools industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Schools industry, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Raffles Education Corporation Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd are -
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Schools sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Schools 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Schools industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Schools industry.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Schools 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, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Raffles Education Corporation Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Schools sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Schools industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Raffles Education Corporation Ltd in the Schools industry. Now Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Raffles Education Corporation Ltd to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Raffles Education Corporation Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Schools industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Schools 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.
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. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Schools industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Schools industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd
– 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Schools sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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.
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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd prominent markets.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Raffles Education Corporation Ltd is facing in Schools sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd in the Schools sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Schools industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Raffles Education Corporation Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Schools industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Raffles Education Corporation Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd 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 Raffles Education Corporation Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.