AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program
The American Chamber of Commerce of Nicaragua (AmCham) developed through its education committee, a School Sponsorship Program. The objective was to encourage its members, mostly private businesses, to help improve national education through the support of needy educational institutions. The collaboration was voluntary, depending on the initiative of the people involved and the time and resources available within each participating firm. As the program progressed, the committee faced the option of becoming independent from AmCham and transforming itself into a nongovernmental institution. In this way, the support of the educational centers would increase through the raising of international funds, while easing sponsors' efforts at the same time.
Authors :: Julio Ayca, Guillermo S. Edelberg, John Ickis
Topics :: Strategy & Execution
Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program" written by Julio Ayca, Guillermo S. Edelberg, John Ickis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amcham Nicaragua facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program casestudy better are - – technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amcham Nicaragua, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amcham Nicaragua 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amcham Nicaragua
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Amcham Nicaragua
Strengths AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Amcham Nicaragua in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Amcham Nicaragua has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Amcham Nicaragua is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Amcham Nicaragua is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Amcham Nicaragua 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 Julio Ayca, Guillermo S. Edelberg, John Ickis 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Amcham Nicaragua is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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.
Training and development
– Amcham Nicaragua has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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
– Amcham Nicaragua 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Amcham Nicaragua 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 Amcham Nicaragua is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Amcham Nicaragua
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Amcham Nicaragua does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Amcham Nicaragua 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Amcham Nicaragua, firm in the HBR case study AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Amcham Nicaragua supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Amcham Nicaragua vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Amcham Nicaragua 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Amcham Nicaragua 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 Amcham Nicaragua has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program, in the dynamic environment Amcham Nicaragua has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Amcham Nicaragua has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Amcham Nicaragua is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Amcham Nicaragua needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Amcham Nicaragua to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Amcham Nicaragua 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 - AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program | 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program are -
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 Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amcham Nicaragua to increase its market reach. Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Amcham Nicaragua is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Amcham Nicaragua can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Amcham Nicaragua 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 Amcham Nicaragua to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Amcham Nicaragua has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Amcham Nicaragua to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program case study. Amcham Nicaragua can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Amcham Nicaragua can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Amcham Nicaragua operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Amcham Nicaragua 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. Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Amcham Nicaragua 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, AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Amcham Nicaragua can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program are -
Increasing wage structure of Amcham Nicaragua
– 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 Amcham Nicaragua.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Amcham Nicaragua 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program, Amcham Nicaragua may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Amcham Nicaragua business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Amcham Nicaragua 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 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Amcham Nicaragua 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Amcham Nicaragua 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Amcham Nicaragua 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Amcham Nicaragua 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
– Amcham Nicaragua 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.
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 Amcham Nicaragua in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Amcham Nicaragua has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amcham Nicaragua needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 AmCham of Nicaragua: Sponsorship Program 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 Amcham Nicaragua needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
