First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu (FAM) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Financial Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu
2. Improving business portfolio management of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Misc. Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu
Strengths of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu are -
Digital Transformation in Misc. Financial Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has one of the best training and development program in Financial 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu staying ahead in the Misc. Financial Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Financial Services
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is one of the leading players in the Misc. Financial Services industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Financial Services industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Financial Services industry
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Financial Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Financial Services 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.
Weaknesses of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu are -
Lack of clear differentiation of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Financial Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is one of the leading players in the Misc. Financial Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Misc. Financial Services industry in last five years.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Financial Services industry over the last five years. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Misc. Financial Services industry, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry, but First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to focus more on services in the Misc. Financial Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry using digital technology.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Financial Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Financial Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Financial Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu are -
Developing new processes and practices
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Financial Services industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to increase its market reach. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Financial Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu in the Misc. Financial Services industry. Now First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Financial Services sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Financial Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Financial Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Financial Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu are -
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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu is facing in Misc. Financial Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.
Regulatory challenges
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry regulations.
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. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Financial Services sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Financial Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Financial Services 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 Misc. Financial Services industry and other sectors.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Misc. Financial Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu in the Misc. Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu 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 First Trust/Aberdeen Global Opportu needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
