Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR (GS_pb) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
Strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR in the sector have low bargaining power. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Organizational Resilience of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR is just above the 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can develop new processes and procedures in 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to build a more holistic ecosystem for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR are -
Environmental challenges
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Increasing wage structure of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR
– 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR.
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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pb ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
