ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return (CTR) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return (United States)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return
2. Improving business portfolio management of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return
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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return

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Strengths of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return are -

Strong track record of project management in the industry

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return in the sector have low bargaining power. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Training and development

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to lead change in

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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)

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

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Weaknesses of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Lack of clear differentiation of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Employees’ less understanding of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has high operating costs in the industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return lucrative customers.

High dependence on ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Need for greater diversity

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

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ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return are -

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Manufacturing automation

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to increase its market reach. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Loyalty marketing

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to build a more holistic ecosystem for ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return in the industry. Now ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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Threats ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return

– 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

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.

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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return prominent markets.

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. ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return 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 ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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