Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Sycamore Entmt Grp is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices,
wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sycamore Entmt Grp
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Sycamore Entmt Grp can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sycamore Entmt Grp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Sycamore Entmt Grp
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sycamore Entmt Grp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Motion Pictures sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sycamore Entmt Grp
Strengths of Sycamore Entmt Grp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sycamore Entmt Grp are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sycamore Entmt Grp is one of the leading players in the Motion Pictures 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Sycamore Entmt Grp is one of the most innovative firm in Motion Pictures sector.
Digital Transformation in Motion Pictures industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sycamore Entmt Grp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sycamore Entmt Grp in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Sycamore Entmt Grp has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sycamore Entmt Grp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sycamore Entmt Grp has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Motion Pictures industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Sycamore Entmt Grp have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Sycamore Entmt Grp has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Analytics focus
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures 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.
High brand equity
– Sycamore Entmt Grp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sycamore Entmt Grp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sycamore Entmt Grp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Sycamore Entmt Grp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures industry
– Sycamore Entmt Grp has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sycamore Entmt Grp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Motion Pictures industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sycamore Entmt Grp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Sycamore Entmt Grp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sycamore Entmt Grp are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Sycamore Entmt Grp is one of the leading players in the Motion Pictures industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Motion Pictures industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Motion Pictures industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Sycamore Entmt Grp needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Motion Pictures industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Sycamore Entmt Grp can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sycamore Entmt Grp is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Sycamore Entmt Grp, in the dynamic environment of Motion Pictures industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sycamore Entmt Grp has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Sycamore Entmt Grp ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Sycamore Entmt Grp still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Motion Pictures industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sycamore Entmt Grp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Motion Pictures industry, Sycamore Entmt Grp 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
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Sycamore Entmt Grp, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Motion Pictures 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Sycamore Entmt Grp strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sycamore Entmt Grp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Motion Pictures industry, but Sycamore Entmt Grp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sycamore Entmt Grp to focus more on services in the Motion Pictures 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, Sycamore Entmt Grp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Sycamore Entmt Grp to provide better information regarding Motion Pictures products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Sycamore Entmt Grp Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Sycamore Entmt Grp are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sycamore Entmt Grp to increase its market reach. Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Motion Pictures industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Sycamore Entmt Grp in the Motion Pictures industry. Now Sycamore Entmt Grp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sycamore Entmt Grp can develop new processes and procedures in Motion Pictures 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.
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. Sycamore Entmt Grp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Motion Pictures industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sycamore Entmt Grp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sycamore Entmt Grp has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Motion Pictures sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Sycamore Entmt Grp to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sycamore Entmt Grp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Sycamore Entmt Grp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Motion Pictures 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sycamore Entmt Grp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sycamore Entmt Grp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Motion Pictures sector.
Threats Sycamore Entmt Grp External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Sycamore Entmt Grp are -
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 Sycamore Entmt Grp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sycamore Entmt Grp is facing in Motion Pictures sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures industry.
Environmental challenges
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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. Sycamore Entmt Grp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Motion Pictures industry.
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. Sycamore Entmt Grp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Motion Pictures industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Motion Pictures industry are lowering. It can presents Sycamore Entmt Grp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Motion Pictures sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sycamore Entmt Grp in Motion Pictures industry. The Motion Pictures 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Motion Pictures industry regulations.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Sycamore Entmt Grp
– 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sycamore Entmt Grp Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp 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 Sycamore Entmt Grp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
