Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank
Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank details the development of the bank's new Office of Outreach Partnerships to sustain a culture of innovation through maintaining and generating partnerships in order to fulfill the bank's greater mission of providing multilateral development financing as well as non-financial technical support and expertise for the Latin American and Caribbean region. At the time the case takes place, the Latin American and Caribbean region had seen changes such as expansion of the middle class, emergence of a new business class, and integration with foreign trade. Additionally, the region had faced challenges such as poverty, education, productivity, and infrastructure in both small and medium enterprises. Finally, new actors had entered the region such as governments, corporations, foundations, academic institutions, and NGO's to take a supporting role. In response, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had created the Office of Outreach and Partnerships (ORP) as a dedicated team to lead strategic collaboration and interactions with a long-term vision for partnerships and innovation. The case portrays key questions concerning how the partnership process was formalized through the development of ORP, and what innovations these new partnerships would bring to the bank. Three example partnerships are detailed including The Coca-Cola Company, The Salud Mesoamerica 2015 Initiative, and PepsiCo. The case concludes by positing questions the ORP would face moving forward such as incentives, metrics, restructuring to serve the private sector, and mechanisms for working with a new set of partners.
Authors :: Amy C. Edmondson, Erin Henry, Andreas Georgoulias, Natalie Bartlett
Topics :: Organizational Development
Tags :: Economy, Government, Growth strategy, Health, International business, Joint ventures, Leading teams, Organizational culture, Organizational structure, Public relations, Reorganization, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank" written by Amy C. Edmondson, Erin Henry, Andreas Georgoulias, Natalie Bartlett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Partnerships Orp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economy, Government, Growth strategy, Health, International business, Joint ventures, Leading teams, Organizational culture, Organizational structure, Public relations, Reorganization, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Partnerships Orp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Partnerships Orp 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Partnerships Orp
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 Partnerships Orp
Strengths Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Partnerships Orp in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Partnerships Orp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Partnerships Orp 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Partnerships Orp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Partnerships Orp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Partnerships Orp 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 Partnerships Orp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Partnerships Orp is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Partnerships Orp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Partnerships Orp has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Partnerships Orp in the sector have low bargaining power. Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Partnerships Orp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Partnerships Orp 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 Amy C. Edmondson, Erin Henry, Andreas Georgoulias, Natalie Bartlett 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Partnerships Orp in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Partnerships Orp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Partnerships Orp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Partnerships Orp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Partnerships Orp 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Partnerships Orp 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Partnerships Orp 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Partnerships Orp 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Partnerships Orp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Partnerships Orp is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Partnerships Orp 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 Partnerships Orp 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 - Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank, in the dynamic environment Partnerships Orp has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Partnerships Orp has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Partnerships Orp 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. Partnerships Orp 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Partnerships Orp 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 Partnerships Orp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Partnerships Orp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Partnerships Orp to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank | 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Partnerships Orp 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Partnerships Orp 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.
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. Partnerships Orp can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Partnerships Orp 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.
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 Partnerships Orp 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Partnerships Orp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Partnerships Orp 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Partnerships Orp 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 Organizational Development segment.
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. Partnerships Orp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Partnerships Orp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Partnerships Orp to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank case study. Partnerships Orp can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Partnerships Orp 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Partnerships Orp 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, Partnerships Orp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Partnerships Orp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Partnerships Orp 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Partnerships Orp 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 disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Partnerships Orp
– 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 Partnerships Orp.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Partnerships Orp 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank, Partnerships Orp may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Partnerships Orp is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Partnerships Orp 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. Partnerships Orp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Partnerships Orp 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.
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 Partnerships Orp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Partnerships Orp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Partnerships Orp 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.
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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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 Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank 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 Partnerships Orp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
