Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR (GS_pc) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR
Strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR are -
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc 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.
Ability to lead change in
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
High brand equity
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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 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 Pc ADR supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the industry.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Pc 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 Pc 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to increase its market reach. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc ADR to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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.
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 Pc 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 Pc 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.
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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
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 Pc ADR can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR.
Environmental challenges
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc ADR can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the industry.
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.
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.
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 Pc 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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.
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 Pc ADR needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR 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 Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc ADR prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc 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 Pc ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.