Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight
Since 1993, the Aravind Eye Hospital had grown significantly in terms of service delivery and infrastructure, having added a fourth hospital to its operations. Plans were underway in 2000 to set up a fifth hospital. Aravind had also made progress in two other key areas. First, it set up its own manufacturing facility, Aurolab, to produce an intraocular lens (IOL), given that cataract surgery using IOL implants was most successful in treating blindness. Second, Aravind created the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology, a training facility designed to educate health-related and managerial personnel in the development and implementation of efficient and sustainable eye care programs in India, Asia, and Africa. In July 2000, Aravind's founder, Dr. Venkataswamy, now 81 years old, continued his campaign to spread the Aravind model to every corner of India, Asia, and Africa. Ends with a conversation between Dr. Venkataswamy and the case writers, during which he explains what still needs to be done to eradicate blindness around the world.
Swot Analysis of "Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight" written by Nirmalya Kumar, Brian Rogers includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aravind Iol facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization,
wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aravind Iol, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aravind Iol 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aravind Iol
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 Aravind Iol
Strengths Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aravind Iol in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Aravind Iol is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Aravind Iol 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 Aravind Iol is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Aravind Iol has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Aravind Iol has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aravind Iol 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aravind Iol to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aravind Iol to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Aravind Iol 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Aravind Iol
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Aravind Iol does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Aravind Iol is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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.
High brand equity
– Aravind Iol has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aravind Iol to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aravind Iol 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Aravind Iol in the sector have low bargaining power. Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Aravind Iol to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aravind Iol is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Aravind Iol, firm in the HBR case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Aravind Iol 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Iol has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight, it seems that the employees of Aravind Iol 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Aravind Iol 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Aravind Iol has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight HBR case study mentions - Aravind Iol 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight, is just above the industry average. Aravind Iol 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Aravind Iol has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight | 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Aravind Iol 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, Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Aravind Iol 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Aravind Iol has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Aravind Iol to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight case study. Aravind Iol can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aravind Iol to increase its market reach. Aravind Iol 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Aravind Iol can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aravind Iol can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aravind Iol operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Aravind Iol 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aravind Iol 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aravind Iol is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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.
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. Aravind Iol can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Aravind Iol in the consumer business. Now Aravind Iol can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Aravind Iol can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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.
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. Aravind Iol 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. Aravind Iol 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.
Threats Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Aravind Iol is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Aravind Iol 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Aravind Iol with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Aravind Iol 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aravind Iol 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.
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. Aravind Iol can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Aravind Iol
– 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 Aravind Iol.
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 Aravind Iol.
Regulatory challenges
– Aravind Iol 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Aravind Iol has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aravind Iol 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Aravind Iol 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.
Environmental challenges
– Aravind Iol 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. Aravind Iol can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Eye Hospital 2000: Still in Service for Sight 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 Aravind Iol needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
