SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Miricor Enterprises (Hong Kong)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Miricor Enterprises is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Miricor Enterprises
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Miricor Enterprises can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Miricor Enterprises, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Miricor Enterprises
2. Improving business portfolio management of Miricor Enterprises
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Personal Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Miricor Enterprises
Strengths of Miricor Enterprises | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Miricor Enterprises are -
High brand equity
– Miricor Enterprises has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Miricor Enterprises to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Miricor Enterprises has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Miricor Enterprises 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
– Miricor Enterprises 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Miricor Enterprises is one of the most innovative firm in Personal Services sector.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Miricor Enterprises are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Personal Services
– Miricor Enterprises is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Personal Services industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Miricor Enterprises 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
– Miricor Enterprises is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry in Hong Kong. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Hong Kong. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Personal Services industry
– Miricor Enterprises has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Miricor Enterprises to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Personal Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Miricor Enterprises to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Miricor Enterprises
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Miricor Enterprises does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Miricor Enterprises in Personal Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Miricor Enterprises has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Miricor Enterprises staying ahead in the Personal Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Miricor Enterprises in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Miricor Enterprises has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Miricor Enterprises to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Miricor Enterprises | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Miricor Enterprises are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Miricor Enterprises has some of the most successful models in the Personal Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Miricor Enterprises should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Miricor Enterprises is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Personal Services industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Miricor Enterprises 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Miricor Enterprises needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Personal Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Miricor Enterprises can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Miricor Enterprises is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Miricor Enterprises, in the dynamic environment of Personal Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Miricor Enterprises has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring in Personal Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Miricor Enterprises has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Miricor Enterprises is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Miricor Enterprises to provide better information regarding Personal Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ less understanding of Miricor Enterprises strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Miricor Enterprises 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Miricor Enterprises, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Personal 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Personal Services industry, Miricor Enterprises 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Miricor Enterprises is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Personal Services industry, but Miricor Enterprises needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Miricor Enterprises to focus more on services in the Personal Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Miricor Enterprises Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Miricor Enterprises are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Miricor Enterprises is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Miricor Enterprises can utilize new technology in the field of Personal Services 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 Miricor Enterprises can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Personal Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Miricor Enterprises in the Personal Services industry. Now Miricor Enterprises can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Miricor Enterprises has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Personal Services industry. This can help Miricor Enterprises to build a more holistic ecosystem for Miricor Enterprises products in the Personal Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Miricor Enterprises to increase its market reach. Miricor Enterprises 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Miricor Enterprises can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Personal 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Miricor Enterprises can develop new processes and procedures in Personal 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Miricor Enterprises 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 Personal Services industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Miricor Enterprises has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Personal Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Miricor Enterprises to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Miricor Enterprises can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Miricor Enterprises can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Miricor Enterprises operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Personal Services sector.
Threats Miricor Enterprises External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Miricor Enterprises are -
Regulatory challenges
– Miricor Enterprises 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 Personal Services industry regulations.
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 Miricor Enterprises business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Miricor Enterprises may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Personal Services sector.
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. Miricor Enterprises needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Personal 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 Miricor Enterprises.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Miricor Enterprises in Personal Services industry. The Personal Services 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Miricor Enterprises is facing in Personal Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Miricor Enterprises has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Personal Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Miricor Enterprises needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Personal 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 Miricor Enterprises
– 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 Miricor Enterprises.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Miricor Enterprises 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 Personal Services industry.
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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Miricor Enterprises will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Personal Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Miricor Enterprises can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Miricor Enterprises Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises 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 Miricor Enterprises needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.