SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for FII RIOB RC (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , FII RIOB RC is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that FII RIOB RC can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the FII RIOB RC, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of FII RIOB RC
2. Improving business portfolio management of FII RIOB RC
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a NA sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of FII RIOB RC
Strengths of FII RIOB RC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of FII RIOB RC are -
Strong track record of project management in the NA industry
– FII RIOB RC is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the FII RIOB RC 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.
Digital Transformation in NA industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For FII RIOB RC digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. FII RIOB RC 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of FII RIOB RC in the NA sector have low bargaining power. FII RIOB RC has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps FII RIOB RC to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in NA industry
– FII RIOB RC has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled FII RIOB RC to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the NA industry. The sustainable margins have also helped FII RIOB RC to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– FII RIOB RC is one of the most innovative firm in NA sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of FII RIOB RC in NA industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– FII RIOB RC has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. FII RIOB RC 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that FII RIOB RC 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– FII RIOB RC has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive NA industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of FII RIOB RC have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at FII RIOB RC emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– FII RIOB RC has one of the best training and development program in NA 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.
Weaknesses of FII RIOB RC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FII RIOB RC are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in NA industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Brazil, FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the NA industry, FII RIOB RC 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.
Skills based hiring in NA industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at FII RIOB RC 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, FII RIOB RC has high operating costs in the NA industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract FII RIOB RC lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, FII RIOB RC is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help FII RIOB RC to provide better information regarding NA products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on FII RIOB RC ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of FII RIOB RC still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in NA industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though FII RIOB RC has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at FII RIOB RC, in the dynamic environment of NA industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. FII RIOB RC has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that FII RIOB RC needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the NA industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at FII RIOB RC can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as FII RIOB RC is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ less understanding of FII RIOB RC strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of FII RIOB RC 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of FII RIOB RC is just above the NA 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.
FII RIOB RC Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of FII RIOB RC are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help FII RIOB RC to increase its market reach. FII RIOB RC will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for FII RIOB RC in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the NA industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– FII RIOB RC has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in NA sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled FII RIOB RC to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help FII RIOB RC to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, FII RIOB RC is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FII RIOB RC can utilize new technology in the field of NA 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 FII RIOB RC 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, FII RIOB RC 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– FII RIOB RC can develop new processes and procedures in NA 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.
Buying journey improvements
– FII RIOB RC can improve the customer journey of consumers in the NA 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
– FII RIOB RC can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in NA 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– FII RIOB RC 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in NA industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for FII RIOB RC in the NA industry. Now FII RIOB RC can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats FII RIOB RC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of FII RIOB RC are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– FII RIOB RC 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.
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. FII RIOB RC needs to understand the core reasons impacting the NA industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 FII RIOB RC business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of FII RIOB RC
– 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 FII RIOB RC.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to NA industry are lowering. It can presents FII RIOB RC with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the NA sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that FII RIOB RC is facing in NA sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, FII RIOB RC may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of NA sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– FII RIOB RC 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 NA industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– FII RIOB RC 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. FII RIOB RC can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the NA industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– FII RIOB RC has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the NA industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, FII RIOB RC needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the NA 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.
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 FII RIOB RC.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FII RIOB RC Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC 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 FII RIOB RC needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
