ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.By June 2004, ACHAP, a three-way partnership of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck, and the Botswana government, had committed nearly $60 million of the $100 million toward various AIDS education, prevention, and treatment programs. It was time to evaluate the success of the program and make strategic shifts, if necessary, looking forward to the future. Includes color exhibits.
Swot Analysis of "ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana" written by V. Kasturi Rangan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Achap Botswana facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Project management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Achap Botswana, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Achap Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Achap Botswana
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Achap Botswana
Strengths ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Achap Botswana in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Achap Botswana is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Achap Botswana in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Achap Botswana has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Achap Botswana has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Achap Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Achap Botswana is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Achap Botswana is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 Achap Botswana in the sector have low bargaining power. ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Achap Botswana to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Achap Botswana 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 Achap Botswana is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Achap Botswana has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Achap Botswana to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Achap Botswana 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 V. Kasturi Rangan 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 Achap Botswana
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Achap Botswana does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Achap Botswana 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Achap Botswana, firm in the HBR case study ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Achap Botswana is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Achap Botswana 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. Achap Botswana 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Achap Botswana products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Achap Botswana needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Kasturi Rangan suggests that, Achap Botswana 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Achap Botswana 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 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 Achap Botswana supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Achap Botswana vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana, is just above the industry average. Achap Botswana 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Achap Botswana 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.
Opportunities ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana | 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Achap Botswana can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Achap Botswana can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Achap Botswana operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Achap Botswana can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Achap Botswana 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.
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. Achap Botswana can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Achap Botswana in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Achap Botswana has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Achap Botswana to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana case study. Achap Botswana can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Achap Botswana 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Achap Botswana 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. Achap Botswana 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Achap Botswana can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Achap Botswana 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Achap Botswana 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 Achap Botswana to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Achap Botswana to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana are -
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 Achap Botswana in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Achap Botswana can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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
– Achap Botswana 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. Achap Botswana can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Achap Botswana 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Achap Botswana 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Achap Botswana in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Achap Botswana business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Achap Botswana
– 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 Achap Botswana.
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. Achap Botswana needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana, Achap Botswana may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Achap Botswana 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Achap Botswana has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Achap Botswana needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana 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 Achap Botswana needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): The Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana
