SatrecInitiative (99320) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Communications Equipment
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for SatrecInitiative (South Korea)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , SatrecInitiative is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that SatrecInitiative can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the SatrecInitiative, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of SatrecInitiative
2. Improving business portfolio management of SatrecInitiative
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in South Korea
4. Making a Communications Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of SatrecInitiative
Strengths of SatrecInitiative | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of SatrecInitiative are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– SatrecInitiative is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in South Korea. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in South Korea. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– SatrecInitiative has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– SatrecInitiative is present in almost all the verticals within the Communications Equipment industry. This has provided SatrecInitiative 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the SatrecInitiative 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 Communications Equipment industry
– SatrecInitiative has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled SatrecInitiative to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communications Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped SatrecInitiative to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Communications Equipment
– SatrecInitiative is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in South Korea. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Communications Equipment industry in South Korea but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled SatrecInitiative in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– SatrecInitiative has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – SatrecInitiative staying ahead in the Communications Equipment industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– SatrecInitiative is one of the most innovative firm in Communications Equipment sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– SatrecInitiative has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. SatrecInitiative 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of SatrecInitiative comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Communications Equipment 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.
Learning organization
- SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at SatrecInitiative emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– SatrecInitiative has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Communications Equipment industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of SatrecInitiative have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of SatrecInitiative | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SatrecInitiative are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SatrecInitiative is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that SatrecInitiative needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Communications Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at SatrecInitiative can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as SatrecInitiative is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of SatrecInitiative is just above the Communications Equipment 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, SatrecInitiative has high operating costs in the Communications Equipment industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract SatrecInitiative lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Communications Equipment industry, SatrecInitiative 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, SatrecInitiative has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry over the last five years. SatrecInitiative even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on SatrecInitiative ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of SatrecInitiative still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Communications Equipment industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though SatrecInitiative has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though SatrecInitiative has some of the most successful models in the Communications Equipment industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. SatrecInitiative should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at SatrecInitiative, in the dynamic environment of Communications Equipment industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. SatrecInitiative has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 SatrecInitiative supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, SatrecInitiative is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left SatrecInitiative vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of SatrecInitiative strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of SatrecInitiative 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.
SatrecInitiative Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of SatrecInitiative are -
Buying journey improvements
– SatrecInitiative can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Communications Equipment 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 SatrecInitiative has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Communications Equipment industry. This can help SatrecInitiative to build a more holistic ecosystem for SatrecInitiative products in the Communications Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at SatrecInitiative can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Communications Equipment industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, SatrecInitiative can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that SatrecInitiative operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communications Equipment sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communications Equipment industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. SatrecInitiative can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects SatrecInitiative can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Communications Equipment industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for SatrecInitiative in the Communications Equipment industry. Now SatrecInitiative can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– SatrecInitiative 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– SatrecInitiative 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, SatrecInitiative is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SatrecInitiative can utilize new technology in the field of Communications Equipment industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats SatrecInitiative External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of SatrecInitiative are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for SatrecInitiative in Communications Equipment industry. The Communications Equipment industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on SatrecInitiative demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Communications Equipment industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– SatrecInitiative 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. SatrecInitiative can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communications Equipment industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– SatrecInitiative has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communications Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, SatrecInitiative needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communications Equipment sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Communications Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents SatrecInitiative with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Communications Equipment sector.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– SatrecInitiative 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.
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. SatrecInitiative 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of SatrecInitiative
– 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 SatrecInitiative.
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. SatrecInitiative needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communications Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– SatrecInitiative 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 Communications Equipment industry.
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 SatrecInitiative.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SatrecInitiative Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative 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 SatrecInitiative needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.