CS Communication (SIGF) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for CS Communication (France)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , CS Communication is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CS Communication

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that CS Communication can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the CS Communication, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which CS Communication 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of CS Communication can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of CS Communication
2. Improving business portfolio management of CS Communication
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in France
4. Making a Computer Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of CS Communication

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Strengths of CS Communication | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of CS Communication are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– CS Communication has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – CS Communication staying ahead in the Computer Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Innovation driven organization

– CS Communication is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Services sector.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of CS Communication in Computer Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Learning organization

- CS Communication 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 CS Communication is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at CS Communication emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

– CS Communication has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled CS Communication to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Digital Transformation in Computer Services industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For CS Communication digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. CS Communication 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 CS Communication in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. CS Communication has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps CS Communication to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Highly skilled collaborators

– CS Communication has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of CS Communication have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of CS Communication comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– CS Communication is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Services industry. This has provided CS Communication 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.

Organizational Resilience of CS Communication

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing CS Communication does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Strong track record of project management in the Computer Services industry

– CS Communication is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

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Weaknesses of CS Communication | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of CS Communication are -

Need for greater diversity

– CS Communication 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

CS Communication has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As CS Communication is one of the leading players in the Computer Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Services industry in last five years.

Lack of clear differentiation of CS Communication products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, CS Communication needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of CS Communication, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Services 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 CS Communication strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of CS Communication 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of France, CS Communication needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, CS Communication is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help CS Communication to provide better information regarding Computer Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of CS Communication is just above the Computer 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that CS Communication needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at CS Communication can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as CS Communication is planning to shift buying processes online.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of CS Communication is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Services industry, but CS Communication needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help CS Communication to focus more on services in the Computer Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

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CS Communication Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of CS Communication are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for CS Communication in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

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. CS Communication can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, CS Communication 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 CS Communication to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Manufacturing automation

– CS Communication can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Services 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help CS Communication to increase its market reach. CS Communication will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Loyalty marketing

– CS Communication 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, CS Communication can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that CS Communication operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Services sector.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, CS Communication 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for CS Communication 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 CS Communication to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Services industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for CS Communication in the Computer Services industry. Now CS Communication can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects CS Communication can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– CS Communication 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 Computer Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. CS Communication can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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Threats CS Communication External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of CS Communication 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. CS Communication needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– CS Communication has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, CS Communication needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Services industry are lowering. It can presents CS Communication with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Services sector.

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 CS Communication.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that CS Communication is facing in Computer Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 CS Communication in the Computer Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Environmental challenges

– CS Communication 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. CS Communication can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Services industry.

Regulatory challenges

– CS Communication 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 Computer Services 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, CS Communication may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Services sector.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Computer Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. CS Communication can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Consumer confidence and its impact on CS Communication 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 Computer Services industry and other sectors.

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 CS Communication business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of CS Communication Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at CS Communication 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 CS Communication 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 CS Communication 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 CS Communication 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 CS Communication needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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