Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A)
Infinity Life Insurance Company was a joint venture between two Indian public sector banks and a U.K.-based insurance firm. The company began its operations in November 2009, as the youngest entrant in the life insurance market in India. Within three years of launching operations, it ranked among the top 10 private firms for new business premiums. When the joint venture project started, the senior leadership group identified numerous challenges and various strategies to address those challenges (detailed in this case). The company connected its basic business strategies to a set of human resource strategies, which were then applied through various human resource processes. With the Indian government focusing on further liberalization in the insurance sector, the joint venture needed to be ready for the next leap. Which processes should it continue, and which needed to be changed? Meenakshi Aggarwal-Gupta is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore. Amitabha Sengupta is affiliated with K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research.
Swot Analysis of "Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A)" written by Meenakshi Aggarwal-Gupta, Amitabha Sengupta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Insurance Infinity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Organizational culture, Talent management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Insurance Infinity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Insurance Infinity 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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Insurance Infinity
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 Insurance Infinity
Strengths Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Insurance Infinity in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) 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.
Learning organization
- Insurance Infinity 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 Insurance Infinity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Insurance Infinity has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Insurance Infinity to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Insurance Infinity 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.
Analytics focus
– Insurance Infinity 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 Meenakshi Aggarwal-Gupta, Amitabha Sengupta 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.
Organizational Resilience of Insurance Infinity
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Insurance Infinity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Insurance Infinity 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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Insurance Infinity digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Insurance Infinity 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Insurance Infinity to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Insurance Infinity to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Insurance Infinity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Insurance Infinity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Insurance Infinity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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.
Weaknesses Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) 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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Insurance Infinity is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Insurance Infinity supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Insurance Infinity vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Insurance Infinity 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. Insurance Infinity 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Insurance Infinity, firm in the HBR case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Insurance Infinity 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) 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 Insurance Infinity has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Insurance Infinity 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A), in the dynamic environment Insurance Infinity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Insurance Infinity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Insurance Infinity is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Insurance Infinity 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.
Opportunities Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Insurance Infinity can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Insurance Infinity can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Insurance Infinity 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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Insurance Infinity to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Insurance Infinity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Insurance Infinity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) case study. Insurance Infinity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Insurance Infinity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Insurance Infinity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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 Insurance Infinity in the consumer business. Now Insurance Infinity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Insurance Infinity 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Insurance Infinity 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.
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. Insurance Infinity 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. Insurance Infinity 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Insurance Infinity 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 Insurance Infinity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Insurance Infinity 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, Insurance Infinity 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.
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. Insurance Infinity can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) are -
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. Insurance Infinity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Insurance Infinity with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Insurance Infinity 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. Insurance Infinity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Insurance Infinity 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Insurance Infinity 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Insurance Infinity is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Insurance Infinity 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.
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 Insurance Infinity in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Insurance Infinity 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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (A) .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Insurance Infinity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Insurance Infinity 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Insurance Infinity 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Infinity Life Insurance Company: Creating an Organization (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 Insurance Infinity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.