Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util (MFD) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Financial Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
2. Improving business portfolio management of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Misc. Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
Strengths of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Financial Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Financial Services industry
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util staying ahead in the Misc. Financial Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is one of the leading players in the Misc. Financial Services 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Training and development
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has one of the best training and development program in Financial industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Financial Services industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Financial Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry, but Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to focus more on services in the Misc. Financial Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to provide better information regarding Misc. Financial Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Financial Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Misc. Financial Services industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is just above the Misc. Financial Services 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Financial Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Financial Services industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Financial Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Financial Services industry. This can help Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to build a more holistic ecosystem for Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util products in the Misc. Financial Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Financial Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Misc. Financial Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Financial Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Misc. Financial Services industry.
Threats Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util are -
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. Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Financial Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Misc. Financial Services industry and other sectors.
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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util in the Misc. Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Financial Services sector.
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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Misc. Financial Services industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util prominent markets.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Financial Services industry are lowering. It can presents Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Financial Services sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Financial Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Financial Services sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing wage structure of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util
– 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util 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 Macquarie First Tr Global Infr Util needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.