Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A)
The Antamina Mining Company (Compania Minera Antamina, or CMA) is the world's 3rd largest producer of zinc, 7th of copper, and the largest combined operation for both minerals. This Peruvian company, whose operations are located between 4,200 and 4,700 m.a.s.l., is a leader in environmental and social responsibility. Although CMA was a fairly new company (the exploration and construction phases of the mining operations took place between 1997 and 2001, the year in which the production phase began), it had to face a series of complex challenges in order to become an economically viable organization that was both socially and environmentally responsible. Meeting these objectives has implied developing institutional capacities (conflict resolution, management of adverse social contexts, multiculturalism, self-learning, and innovation) that normally appear much later in a company's evolution. Shows some of the typical challenges that managers must face when engaging in large-scale initiatives. CMA's executives worked with tight deadlines and in a high-risk context to make quick decisions whose consequences would have long-term implications, since they would determine the type of relations the company would maintain with diverse stakeholders. In order to make these decisions, they had to establish priorities among at least three distinct logics: i) that of construction and production, where tight time limits, engineers' technical criteria, and cost reduction predominate; ii) the environmental logic, where caution predominates along with impact assessment and an active international community of stakeholders; and iii) the community-based logic, where to co-exist with the primarily indigenous and poor peasant families directly affected by the project it is necessary to obtain a so-called "social license". This phase took place in a context in which CMA had the pressing need to secure financing from international banks.
Authors :: Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez
Swot Analysis of "Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A)" written by Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cma Antamina facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Operations management, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cma Antamina, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cma Antamina 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 Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cma Antamina
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cma Antamina
Strengths Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cma Antamina in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Cma Antamina has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cma Antamina to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cma Antamina has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cma Antamina has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cma Antamina 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cma Antamina is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cma Antamina 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 recruit top talent
– Cma Antamina is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cma Antamina is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study 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.
Training and development
– Cma Antamina has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Analytics focus
– Cma Antamina 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 industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cma Antamina to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cma Antamina to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cma Antamina has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cma Antamina 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.
Weaknesses Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A), it seems that the employees of Cma Antamina 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cma Antamina 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cma Antamina 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 industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Cma Antamina 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 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 Cma Antamina supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cma Antamina vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cma Antamina 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A), is just above the industry average. Cma Antamina 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cma Antamina has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cma Antamina, firm in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. 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 segment, Cma Antamina 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.
Opportunities Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cma Antamina can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cma Antamina has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cma Antamina to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cma Antamina can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Cma Antamina can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) suggest that firm 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cma Antamina has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cma Antamina to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study. Cma Antamina can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Cma Antamina can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cma Antamina 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
– Cma Antamina 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cma Antamina can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Cma Antamina can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cma Antamina 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, as suggested in case study, Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Cma Antamina in the consumer business. Now Cma Antamina can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cma Antamina is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Cma Antamina 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.
Threats Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cma Antamina 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 field.
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. Cma Antamina 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cma Antamina in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
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 Cma Antamina in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Cma Antamina.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cma Antamina 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 prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cma Antamina can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Cma Antamina needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cma Antamina 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cma Antamina has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cma Antamina needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cma Antamina 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cma Antamina 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 the industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Cma Antamina 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. Cma Antamina can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) 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 the case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) 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 the Harvard case study Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) 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 Moving Mountains: The Case of the Antamina Mining Company (A) is 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 Cma Antamina needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
