Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization

In 2000, Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, launched itself on a bold new course. A small but respected agency, it had devoted itself for three decades to supporting "partner" organizations in developing countries throughout the world, funding a variety of grassroots activities. Now, under the leadership of its president, Raymond Offenheiser, Oxfam America had joined with eleven other Oxfams worldwide to become a "global campaigning force" that would focus on challenging the policies and practices of governments and corporations that harmed the poor. The new initiative was in keeping with Offenheiser's belief that it was time for the international development community to move beyond the "welfare" model of service delivery and embrace an approach that took aim at structural impediments that kept impoverished people from improving their lot. But the commitment to becoming a global campaigning organization would pose new challenges for Offenheiser and his senior managers. Within Oxfam America, the campaign work put new pressures on the organization's staff and resources. Some staff members, particularly those who worked with partner organizations in the field, found the campaign work onerous and, in some cases, irrelevant, and worried that Oxfam America's grassroots work in its regional offices was losing its primacy in the agency. HKS Case Number 1738.0

Authors :: Esther Scott, David Brown

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Economic development, Human resource management, International business, Leadership, Social responsibility, Strategic planning, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization" written by Esther Scott, David Brown includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oxfam Campaigning facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economic development, Human resource management, International business, Leadership, Social responsibility, Strategic planning and Organizational Development.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oxfam Campaigning, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oxfam Campaigning 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oxfam Campaigning
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 Oxfam Campaigning

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Strengths Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Oxfam Campaigning in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization Harvard Business Review case study are -

Analytics focus

– Oxfam Campaigning 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 Esther Scott, David Brown 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.

Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Oxfam Campaigning digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field

– Oxfam Campaigning 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 Oxfam Campaigning in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Training and development

– Oxfam Campaigning has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Oxfam Campaigning in the sector have low bargaining power. Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Oxfam Campaigning to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Oxfam Campaigning is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Oxfam Campaigning 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Strong track record of project management

– Oxfam Campaigning is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Learning organization

- Oxfam Campaigning 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 Oxfam Campaigning is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Oxfam Campaigning is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Oxfam Campaigning in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

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Weaknesses Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization are -

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Esther Scott, David Brown suggests that, Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization, it seems that the employees of Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization, in the dynamic environment Oxfam Campaigning has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oxfam Campaigning has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oxfam Campaigning is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Oxfam Campaigning, firm in the HBR case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Need for greater diversity

– Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Oxfam Campaigning is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Oxfam Campaigning needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Oxfam Campaigning to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Oxfam Campaigning 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. Oxfam Campaigning 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam Campaigning 's lucrative customers.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam Campaigning has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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Opportunities Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization | 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization are -

Developing new processes and practices

– Oxfam Campaigning 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

– Oxfam Campaigning can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Oxfam Campaigning can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Oxfam Campaigning operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Oxfam Campaigning is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Oxfam Campaigning 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

– Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oxfam Campaigning 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 Oxfam Campaigning to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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. Oxfam Campaigning can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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. Oxfam Campaigning can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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Threats Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Oxfam Campaigning 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.

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. Oxfam Campaigning needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization, Oxfam Campaigning 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 .

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

– Oxfam Campaigning 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. Oxfam Campaigning can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.

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 Oxfam Campaigning business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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.

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. Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Oxfam Campaigning 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Oxfam Campaigning is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Oxfam Campaigning

– 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 Oxfam Campaigning.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oxfam Campaigning 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization .

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam America: Becoming a Global Campaigning Organization 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 Oxfam Campaigning needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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