SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Maternus Kliniken (Germany)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Maternus Kliniken is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing energy prices,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Maternus Kliniken
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Maternus Kliniken can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maternus Kliniken, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Maternus Kliniken
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maternus Kliniken
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Germany
4. Making a Healthcare Facilities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Maternus Kliniken
Strengths of Maternus Kliniken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maternus Kliniken are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maternus Kliniken 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Maternus Kliniken is present in almost all the verticals within the Healthcare Facilities industry. This has provided Maternus Kliniken 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Healthcare Facilities industry
– Maternus Kliniken is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Maternus Kliniken
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Maternus Kliniken does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry. The technology infrastructure of Germany 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
– Maternus Kliniken has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Healthcare Facilities industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Maternus Kliniken have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the most innovative firm in Healthcare Facilities sector.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Healthcare Facilities industry
– Maternus Kliniken has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Maternus Kliniken to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Healthcare Facilities industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Maternus Kliniken to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Maternus Kliniken comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Healthcare Facilities 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Maternus Kliniken has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Maternus Kliniken staying ahead in the Healthcare Facilities industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Healthcare Facilities
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the leading players in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Maternus Kliniken in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the leading players in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Germany. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of Maternus Kliniken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Maternus Kliniken are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Maternus Kliniken, in the dynamic environment of Healthcare Facilities industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Maternus Kliniken has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Healthcare Facilities industry, Maternus Kliniken 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Maternus Kliniken, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Healthcare Facilities 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 Maternus Kliniken is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Healthcare Facilities industry, but Maternus Kliniken needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Maternus Kliniken to focus more on services in the Healthcare Facilities industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry using digital technology.
Employees’ less understanding of Maternus Kliniken strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Maternus Kliniken 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Healthcare Facilities industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Germany, Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry.
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 Maternus Kliniken supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Maternus Kliniken is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Maternus Kliniken vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Maternus Kliniken 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Maternus Kliniken is just above the Healthcare Facilities 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.
Skills based hiring in Healthcare Facilities industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Maternus Kliniken 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.
Maternus Kliniken Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Maternus Kliniken are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Maternus Kliniken 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Healthcare Facilities industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Maternus Kliniken in the Healthcare Facilities industry. Now Maternus Kliniken can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Maternus Kliniken is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Maternus Kliniken can utilize new technology in the field of Healthcare Facilities industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Maternus Kliniken can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry.
Manufacturing automation
– Maternus Kliniken can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Healthcare Facilities 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 Maternus Kliniken to increase its market reach. Maternus Kliniken 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Maternus Kliniken 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Maternus Kliniken in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Healthcare Facilities industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Maternus Kliniken can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Healthcare Facilities 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.
Threats Maternus Kliniken External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Maternus Kliniken are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Maternus Kliniken has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Healthcare Facilities industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Maternus Kliniken needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Healthcare Facilities 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.
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 Maternus Kliniken.
Regulatory challenges
– Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Maternus Kliniken in Healthcare Facilities industry. The Healthcare Facilities 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– Maternus Kliniken 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. Maternus Kliniken can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Healthcare Facilities 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. Maternus Kliniken needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Healthcare Facilities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Maternus Kliniken 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.
Increasing wage structure of Maternus Kliniken
– 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 Maternus Kliniken.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Maternus Kliniken may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Healthcare Facilities sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Maternus Kliniken is facing in Healthcare Facilities sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Maternus Kliniken Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.