Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR (GS_pj) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices,
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 Pj ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR
Strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR are -
High brand equity
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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.
Organizational Resilience of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Ability to lead change in
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR in the sector have low bargaining power. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR 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.
Weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR are -
Employees’ less understanding of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
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 Pj ADR supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the industry, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR are -
Buying journey improvements
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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 Pj 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 Pj ADR to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
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 Pj ADR can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR to increase its market reach. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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.
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 Pj 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
Threats Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR are -
Increasing wage structure of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR.
Regulatory challenges
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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.
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 Pj ADR in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Pj 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Pj ADR needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR 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 industry and other sectors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj ADR prominent markets.
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 Pj ADR can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj ADR with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Pj ADR business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Goldman Sachs Group Inc Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj 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 Pj ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.