Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World
The millennium objectives of reducing poverty and malnutrition are not being met. How do the private, public, and NGO sectors of society work together to achieve better results and include the recipients in the process?
Authors :: Ray A. Goldberg, Djordjija Petkoski, Kerry Herman
Topics :: Organizational Development
Tags :: Global strategy, Joint ventures, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World" written by Ray A. Goldberg, Djordjija Petkoski, Kerry Herman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Malnutrition Hunger facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Global strategy, Joint ventures, Social responsibility and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Malnutrition Hunger, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Malnutrition Hunger 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Malnutrition Hunger
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 Malnutrition Hunger
Strengths Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Malnutrition Hunger in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Malnutrition Hunger 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 Malnutrition Hunger in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Malnutrition Hunger in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Malnutrition Hunger 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 Malnutrition Hunger is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Analytics focus
– Malnutrition Hunger 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 Ray A. Goldberg, Djordjija Petkoski, Kerry Herman 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 Malnutrition Hunger digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Malnutrition Hunger 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 recruit top talent
– Malnutrition Hunger is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Malnutrition Hunger 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Malnutrition Hunger in the sector have low bargaining power. Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Malnutrition Hunger to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Malnutrition Hunger is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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.
Weaknesses Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Malnutrition Hunger is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World HBR case study mentions - Malnutrition Hunger takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Malnutrition Hunger 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 - Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Malnutrition Hunger has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World, it seems that the employees of Malnutrition Hunger 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.
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 Malnutrition Hunger supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Malnutrition Hunger vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ray A. Goldberg, Djordjija Petkoski, Kerry Herman suggests that, Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Malnutrition Hunger needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World | 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Malnutrition Hunger 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Malnutrition Hunger to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Malnutrition Hunger can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Malnutrition Hunger operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Malnutrition Hunger has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Malnutrition Hunger to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World case study. Malnutrition Hunger can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Malnutrition Hunger can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Malnutrition Hunger can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
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. Malnutrition Hunger can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Malnutrition Hunger to increase its market reach. Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Malnutrition Hunger is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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.
Threats Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Malnutrition Hunger with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Malnutrition Hunger can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Malnutrition Hunger has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Malnutrition Hunger 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World, Malnutrition Hunger 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 .
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 Malnutrition Hunger.
Environmental challenges
– Malnutrition Hunger 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. Malnutrition Hunger can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Malnutrition Hunger 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, Malnutrition Hunger 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World .
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Malnutrition Hunger in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing wage structure of Malnutrition Hunger
– 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 Malnutrition Hunger.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World 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 Malnutrition Hunger needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.