Introduction
The success of a business is determined by the quality of decisions that managers at different levels make. The decisions should be well thought and ensure that at any one point they can facilitate utilization of a company’s strengths and it mitigates internal weakness.
The decisions should ensure that a company stands external threats as it takes advantage of opportunities offered by environment it is operating in. S.W.O.T. and T.O.W.S analysis are management tools used to interpolate external and internal strengths of a company. Samsung is an international electronic company with well known brands in the market (Samsung Official Website, 2010).
By undertaking an S.W.O.T. /T.O.W.S. analysis for the company, its stakeholders will understand its market standing. This paper takes a look at S.W.O.T./T.O.W.S analysis of Samsung Company.
Strengths
Samsung has is highly developed in technology; this assisted the company make products which are responsive to customers need all over the world. Its products are respected for their reliability and quality. This has made the company gain a strong brand name.
Customers have become loyal to the company as they are aware and guaranteed quality. In every five months, the company undertakes its level of technology evaluation and aims at being the leader in technological development in line with its mission statement. It also has a well developed art-crafts infrastructures.
The company has a pool of experienced employees who are able to make unique products which the customers want. In decision making, employees are included to give their contributions. This move that has assisted the company improves its products with time. This has created customer satisfaction and helped the company command a large market. The company focuses at ensuring their end customer satisfaction.
Increased population with better lifestyles has created a demand for electronic goods. This results to an increased market that can be tapped by the company.
Weaknesses
The company lacks an innovative mind to make new products; rather it focuses on improving its current products. This hampers its products differentiation since they are similar to those in the market with few improvements. This is a competitor attack approach which may not always work to the good of Samsung.
The company enjoys economies of scale which from a psychological point of view acts to the disadvantage of the company. The large market enables the company to sell its products cheaply, however people tend to think that low cost goods are low quality. This affects the companies market negatively.
As a result of massive investment in technology and products improvement, the company’s products are ahead of the level of technology that people in the world have. This has resulted to products which are not user friendly (Goold & Campbell, 2002).
Opportunities
Globalisation has facilitates the movement of goods and services across different countries. If the company is able to differentiate its products, the opened economies offer an opportunity for large markets. It should also aim at offering artefact variation. When this is affected, the company is able to enjoy a larger market share than it currently enjoys.
The company already enjoys customer loyalty, it can further the advantage by offering product variation. At-least it has a base that it can lay foundation for future products developments on. If it aims at increasing the type of products it produces as it improves the current brands, the company is likely to enjoy an increased customer base.
The demand for mobile phones has drastically increased. This is an opportunity that the company should take advantage of. It should venture in the areas more aggressively and aim to produce commodities that satisfy the needs of all classes of customers since phone are bought across the board (Fred, 2008).
Threats
Electronic industry has a number of strong players; they include Sony and Nokia Company. This high competition limits Samsung in attaining its goals and objectives. Competition with these well developed players requires an aggressive management team which makes products which are responsive to the needs of customers.
Some companies like Nokia have concentrates in one area of production; phones, this has made their products quality to be higher than those of companies dealing with more than one category of products. Competing with such companies offers Samsung a problem.
Samsung advertising and marketing methodologies are not excessive; however its competitors have excessive advertising. This threats that the company may lose its existing customers.
The world is recovering from economic crisis which occurred from end of 2007. This is offering a threat to businesses since market has gone down and not predictable (Esquerre, 2005).
Conclusion
Understanding a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is important as it assists management and stake holders in making various decisions regarding the company. Samsung enjoys a high level of technology which results to customer satisfaction; however the company lacks products differentiation.
The external environment offers opportunities for more businesslike in mobile phone segments but the challenge that the company has is high competition from established players. To ensure that the company remains competitive, its management should embrace aggressive marketing and innovations methodologies.
Bibliography
Esquerre, B. (2005). Have You Done Your S.W.O.T Today? Fitness Business Pro, 21(12), 24. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
Fred, D. (2008). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Goold, M. & Campbell, A. (2002). Do you have a well-designed organization? Harvard Business Review. 80(3). 117-124.
Paley, N. (1999). The manager’s guide to competitive marketing strategies. New Jersey: CRC Press.
Samsung Official Website. (2010). Web.