Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B)
This case continues the story of the evolution of GE's business initiatives Africa. Between November 2010 and March 2011 several significant structural changes and leadership appointments were announced at GE, which reflected the company's commitment to global growth in all its regions outside the U.S., including its business in sub-Saharan Africa. In November 2010, John Rice, vice chairman of GE and president and CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure, was named vice chairman of GE and president and CEO of Global Growth and Operations (GGO). In this new role, Rice was based in Hong Kong and in charge of GE's growth in regions outside the U.S. In March 2011, Jay Ireland, a 31-year GE veteran and corporate officer, was appointed president and CEO for GE Africa, effective April 15, reporting to Rice. Additionally, three senior executives were appointed to Ireland's team: Lazarus Angbazo was promoted from president and CEO, sub-Saharan Africa, to president and CEO, GE West, East & Central Africa and Africa commercial leader; Thomas Konditi, a native of Kenya, rejoined GE as CFO for Global Growth and Operations, GE Africa; and Tamla Oates-Forney was promoted from human resources leader for sub-Saharan Africa, GE Energy, to senior human resources manager, GE Africa. While many were optimistic about GE's future in Africa, several issues still needed to be considered.
Swot Analysis of "Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B)" written by David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ge Africa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, Emerging markets, Human resource management, Reorganization and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ge Africa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ge Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ge Africa
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 Ge Africa
Strengths Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ge Africa in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ge Africa 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ge Africa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ge Africa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ge Africa digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ge Africa 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Ge Africa is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ge Africa in the sector have low bargaining power. Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ge Africa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Ge Africa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ge Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ge Africa is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ge Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Ge Africa 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 David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Ge Africa 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 Ge Africa in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary suggests that, Ge Africa 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.
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 Ge Africa supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ge Africa vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Ge Africa has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ge Africa 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 - Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), in the dynamic environment Ge Africa has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ge Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), it seems that the employees of Ge Africa 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ge Africa is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), is just above the industry average. Ge Africa needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Ge Africa 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ge Africa 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ge Africa 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.
Opportunities Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) | 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ge Africa 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ge Africa 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ge Africa can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ge Africa 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.
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 Ge Africa in the consumer business. Now Ge Africa can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ge Africa has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ge Africa to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) case study. Ge Africa can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ge Africa 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ge Africa 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 Ge Africa to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ge Africa 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, Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ge Africa to increase its market reach. Ge Africa will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ge Africa 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.
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. Ge Africa 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. Ge Africa 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ge Africa can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ge Africa operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) are -
Regulatory challenges
– Ge Africa 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.
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 Ge Africa.
Increasing wage structure of Ge Africa
– 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 Ge Africa.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Ge Africa 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. Ge Africa can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ge Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ge Africa with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B), Ge Africa 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 .
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. Ge Africa needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Ge Africa 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ge Africa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ge Africa 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.
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. Ge Africa can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ge Africa 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B) 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 Ge Africa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
