Strength
The first letter of the SWOT analysis stands for strengths. Strengths are defined by attributes or operations in which an organization excels and makes a firm stand out from the competition. These can include a recognizable brand, loyal customers, unique technology, and many other features. The strength that is present in the Nokia enterprise that relates to the issue of change resistance in corporate culture is its recognition as being user-friendly. Nokia (2022) cites that employees, stakeholders, and event clients are currently less open to change than is appropriate in the market. Essentially, Nokia is observing an issue in which cross-cultural learning is not occurring or lacks the necessary pace to be effective and is an obstacle to Nokia’s organizational strategies. However, the user-friendly nature of many Nokia products and services can directly impact the communication channels and methods that encourage or introduce new operations or changes to not only company employees but to stakeholders and customers alike. Nokia itself emphasizes the importance of clarity in training and communication channels which can be provided by a user-friendly interface and approach.
Weaknesses
The second letter in SWOT analysis refers to the weaknesses present in a firm’s operations. Essentially, these are attributes that do not allow a firm to function at the optimum level. They also depict gaps and areas that require improvement. Sometimes but not always the opposite of strengths, these can include weak branding, high turnover, a poor supply chain, and more. The weakness that is relevant to the overarching issue currently visible in Nokia operations is the inability to integrate new products into the market. Essentially, Nokia has been unable to successfully enter and compete within the modern market of mobile phones after the transition to touch-screen and smart devices. Overall, the current portfolio of modern devices presented by Nokia cannot compete in any format with other products in the market, including price, quality, visual appeal, accessibility, durability, and more. If the portfolio is not expanded, as may happen due to the resistance to change within the firm, Nokia will continue to see an inability to enter the mobile phone market as a strong competitor and decrease the ability to expand into alternative markets.
Opportunity
The third letter in the SWOT analysis stands for opportunities. Opportunities reflect factors that are external to the company but are favorable or beneficial. They provide the firm with an advantage over direct competitors. These can include changes in the national economy such as tariff cuts, expansion into new markets, and more. The major opportunity that impacts Nokia in relation to the larger organizational challenge is the ability to provide alternative and unique devices in more niche markets. Relying on its traditional strategy, Nokia attempted to compete in the main mobile phone markets over the past few years despite lacking the resources to provide devices that can outperform competitors. However, Nokia shows promise by having adequate sales in alternative markets such as low-budget devices, small-sized computers, unique handheld devices, and 3G and edge market presence. As such, Nokia has the opportunity to diversify in ways that competitors do not consider instead of focusing on the primary smartphone market. This opportunity will also allow Nokia to enter international markets and expand the cross-cultural themes that are currently less visible throughout the firm.
Threats
The last letter in the SWOT analysis is defined by the term threats. Threats are characterized by external factors that can cause potential detriment to a firm. They can include shifts in unrelated markets that cause a negative impact on the sales of an organization, rising costs of materials, a drastic increase in competition, and more. The threat faced by Nokia that poses the most danger includes the very severe competition in all major markets that the firm targets. Alternate and largely popular brands such as Samsung and Apple monopolize sales in the main smartphone market, while Chinese phone brands provide better pricing and features in the low-price sectors for similar products (Wang, 2022). Nokia devices currently compete with products that are superior in almost all manners, from price to performance. As such, the inability to find alternative markets or to drastically improve products that are entered into the main markets will cause negative effects on Nokia’s organizational strategies. This threat highlights that there is more profit in entering niche markets that require unique features than in attempting to reach the unattainable levels that are currently seen in the main markets.
The issue posed at Nokia at the present highlights that while change is occurring slowly, there is a possibility that development and evolution can occur. As such, it is integral for the firm to utilize strengths and opportunities such as the user-friendly nature of existing products and the presence in unique markets for the benefit of the firm. However, the inability to mitigate damage caused by high competition and the current gaps in the quality of existing products will likely cause Nokia to continue to see little improvement or even to witness greater losses. Overall, the issue of the lack of cross-cultural learning and resistance to change is the main issue that stops Nokia from diverting its focus to markets that can be more profitable in the specific case of this firm.
References
Nokia. (2022). Overcoming Roadblocks to Industry 4.0. Web.
Wang, S. (2022). Explanations to the failure of Nokia phone. In C. G. Li, J. J. Lin, T. Huang, M. Z. Abedin, & S. Ahmed (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2022 7th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2022). Atlantis Press. Web.