SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Mcig Inc (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Mcig Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Mcig Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mcig Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Mcig Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mcig Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Tobacco sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mcig Inc
Strengths of Mcig Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mcig Inc are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Tobacco industry
– Mcig Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mcig Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Tobacco industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mcig Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mcig Inc 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.
Analytics focus
– Mcig Inc 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 Tobacco 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.
Training and development
– Mcig Inc has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mcig Inc in Tobacco industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mcig Inc is present in almost all the verticals within the Tobacco industry. This has provided Mcig Inc 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.
Ability to lead change in Tobacco
– Mcig Inc is one of the leading players in the Tobacco industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Tobacco industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Mcig Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mcig Inc 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mcig Inc is one of the leading players in the Tobacco 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.
High brand equity
– Mcig Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mcig Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mcig Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Mcig Inc staying ahead in the Tobacco industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Mcig Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Tobacco sector.
Weaknesses of Mcig Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mcig Inc are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Mcig Inc is just above the Tobacco 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mcig Inc has some of the most successful models in the Tobacco industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Mcig Inc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Mcig Inc, in the dynamic environment of Tobacco industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mcig Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mcig Inc is one of the leading players in the Tobacco industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Tobacco industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring in Tobacco industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mcig Inc 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mcig Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Mcig Inc to provide better information regarding Tobacco products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Mcig Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Mcig Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mcig Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Mcig Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Mcig Inc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Tobacco industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Mcig Inc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Mcig Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Tobacco 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mcig Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Tobacco industry, but Mcig Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mcig Inc to focus more on services in the Tobacco industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Mcig Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Mcig Inc are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mcig Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Tobacco industry. This can help Mcig Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for Mcig Inc products in the Tobacco industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mcig Inc 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 Tobacco industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mcig Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Tobacco sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Mcig Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mcig Inc 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
– Mcig Inc 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mcig Inc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Tobacco industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mcig Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Tobacco 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Mcig Inc can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Tobacco sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mcig Inc can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mcig Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mcig Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Tobacco sector.
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. Mcig Inc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Mcig Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Mcig Inc are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mcig Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Tobacco industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mcig Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Tobacco 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Mcig Inc 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 Tobacco industry regulations.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Mcig Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Tobacco industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mcig Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Mcig Inc
– 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 Mcig Inc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Tobacco industry are lowering. It can presents Mcig Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Tobacco sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mcig Inc in Tobacco industry. The Tobacco 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Mcig Inc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Tobacco sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mcig Inc is facing in Tobacco sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc prominent markets.
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. Mcig Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Tobacco industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mcig Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc 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 Mcig Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.