SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for MindChamps PreSchool (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , MindChamps PreSchool is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MindChamps PreSchool
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that MindChamps PreSchool can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the MindChamps PreSchool, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of MindChamps PreSchool
2. Improving business portfolio management of MindChamps PreSchool
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Personal Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of MindChamps PreSchool
Strengths of MindChamps PreSchool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of MindChamps PreSchool are -
Strong track record of project management in the Personal Services industry
– MindChamps PreSchool is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of MindChamps PreSchool in Personal Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Personal Services industry
– MindChamps PreSchool has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled MindChamps PreSchool to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Personal Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped MindChamps PreSchool to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– MindChamps PreSchool 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
– MindChamps PreSchool is one of the leading players in the Personal Services 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.
Ability to lead change in Personal Services
– MindChamps PreSchool is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Personal Services industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled MindChamps PreSchool in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– MindChamps PreSchool has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled MindChamps PreSchool to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of MindChamps PreSchool in the Services sector have low bargaining power. MindChamps PreSchool has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps MindChamps PreSchool to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of MindChamps PreSchool
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing MindChamps PreSchool does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry. The technology infrastructure of Singapore 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– MindChamps PreSchool has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Personal Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of MindChamps PreSchool have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Weaknesses of MindChamps PreSchool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MindChamps PreSchool are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Personal Services industry, MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Need for greater diversity
– MindChamps PreSchool 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Personal Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Singapore, MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that MindChamps PreSchool needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Personal Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at MindChamps PreSchool can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as MindChamps PreSchool is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of MindChamps PreSchool is just above the Personal Services 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, MindChamps PreSchool is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help MindChamps PreSchool to provide better information regarding Personal Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of MindChamps PreSchool, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Personal 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.
High dependence on MindChamps PreSchool ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of MindChamps PreSchool still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Personal Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though MindChamps PreSchool has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of MindChamps PreSchool is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Personal Services industry, but MindChamps PreSchool needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help MindChamps PreSchool to focus more on services in the Personal Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Employees’ less understanding of MindChamps PreSchool strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of MindChamps PreSchool 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.
MindChamps PreSchool Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of MindChamps PreSchool are -
Developing new processes and practices
– MindChamps PreSchool can develop new processes and procedures in Personal 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.
Loyalty marketing
– MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, MindChamps PreSchool is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MindChamps PreSchool can utilize new technology in the field of Personal Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Personal Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. MindChamps PreSchool 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. MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Manufacturing automation
– MindChamps PreSchool can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Personal 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Personal Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. MindChamps PreSchool can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– MindChamps PreSchool can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Personal Services 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, MindChamps PreSchool 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.
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. MindChamps PreSchool can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of MindChamps PreSchool has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Personal Services industry. This can help MindChamps PreSchool to build a more holistic ecosystem for MindChamps PreSchool products in the Personal Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats MindChamps PreSchool External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of MindChamps PreSchool are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool prominent markets.
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. MindChamps PreSchool needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Personal Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Personal Services industry are lowering. It can presents MindChamps PreSchool with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Personal 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry.
Regulatory challenges
– MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on MindChamps PreSchool 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 Personal Services industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– MindChamps PreSchool 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Personal Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. MindChamps PreSchool can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 MindChamps PreSchool.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that MindChamps PreSchool is facing in Personal Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for MindChamps PreSchool in Personal Services industry. The Personal 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.
Environmental challenges
– MindChamps PreSchool 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. MindChamps PreSchool can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Personal Services industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MindChamps PreSchool Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool 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 MindChamps PreSchool needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.