Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref
2. Improving business portfolio management of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref
Strengths of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref are -
Analytics focus
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has one of the best training and development program in 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.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref in the sector have low bargaining power. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Weaknesses of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is one of the leading players in the industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 industry.
Buying journey improvements
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref in the industry. Now Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Threats Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref in the 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. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref in industry. The 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
Environmental challenges
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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. Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the 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.
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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref 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 Arbor Realty Trust Inc Pb Pref needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.