Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program
A family-owned business, Acindar was one of the most important steel companies in Argentina. After the 2001-2002 Argentine economic crisis, it yielded its controlling stake to a new investor--Belgo Mineira, a Brazilian company of Austrian origin. Arturo Acevedo Jr., the founder's grandson, kept his managerial position as company CEO and president. Acindar Foundation, through the initiative of the company's founder Arturo Acevedo (grandfather) and in its capacity as corporate social policy enforcer, engaged in comprehensive educational, health, and environmental activities for 40 years. Depicts the changes resulting from the incorporation of the new shareholders to the company and how they reflected on the foundation's management and the corporate HR area. The triggering factor was an initiative to develop a corporate volunteer program similar to the one Belgo Mineira had implemented in Brazil--a project that integrated foundation, corporate, and HR management efforts at each production plant.
Authors :: Ariel Kievsky, Victoria Corti Maderna, Ruth Szvarc, Gabriel Berger
Topics :: Organizational Development
Tags :: Competitive strategy, Human resource management, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program" written by Ariel Kievsky, Victoria Corti Maderna, Ruth Szvarc, Gabriel Berger includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Acindar Acevedo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Human resource management, Social enterprise and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Acindar Acevedo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Acindar Acevedo
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 Acindar Acevedo
Strengths Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Acindar Acevedo in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Acindar Acevedo is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Acindar Acevedo 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Acindar Acevedo has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Acindar Acevedo 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Acindar Acevedo in the sector have low bargaining power. Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Acindar Acevedo to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Acindar Acevedo is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Acindar Acevedo in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Acindar Acevedo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Acindar Acevedo is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Acindar Acevedo is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Acindar Acevedo is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Organizational Resilience of Acindar Acevedo
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Acindar Acevedo does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program, in the dynamic environment Acindar Acevedo has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Acindar Acevedo has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program, it seems that the employees of Acindar Acevedo 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Acindar Acevedo 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Acindar Acevedo 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Acindar Acevedo has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Acindar Acevedo is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Acindar Acevedo needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Acindar Acevedo to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Acindar Acevedo has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Acindar Acevedo even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Acindar Acevedo, firm in the HBR case study Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ariel Kievsky, Victoria Corti Maderna, Ruth Szvarc, Gabriel Berger suggests that, Acindar Acevedo 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 industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program | 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Acindar Acevedo is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Acindar Acevedo can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Acindar Acevedo to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Acindar Acevedo 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
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Acindar Acevedo in the consumer business. Now Acindar Acevedo can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar Acevedo to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Acindar Acevedo can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Acindar Acevedo in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Acindar Acevedo can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Acindar Acevedo can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. 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
– Acindar Acevedo 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Acindar Acevedo 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, Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Acindar Acevedo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Acindar Acevedo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program case study. Acindar Acevedo can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program are -
Regulatory challenges
– Acindar Acevedo 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Acindar Acevedo 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.
Increasing wage structure of Acindar Acevedo
– 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 Acindar Acevedo.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Acindar Acevedo 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Acindar Acevedo 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
– Acindar Acevedo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Acindar Acevedo 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.
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. Acindar Acevedo 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.
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 Acindar Acevedo business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Acindar Acevedo.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Acindar Acevedo with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Acindar Acevedo can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Acindar Acevedo in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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 Acindar and Its Corporate Volunteer Program 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 Acindar Acevedo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
