Case Study Description of Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme
AMICHOCA? Foundation was a private non-profit organization operating since 1996 in the Colombian department of ChocA?, one of the poorest in the country and characterized by being largely inhabited by ethnic minorities of African origin and enjoying one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. The Foundation implemented productive projects that help improve the living conditions in communities within a framework of social and environmental sustainability. In this line, in 2000, the Foundation encouraged the creation of Oro Verde Corporation (hereinafter, OVC), a cross-sector alliance involving, in addition to AMICHOCA?, three local social organizations. OVC developed the Green Gold program that considered conventional small- scale mining as a productive alternative that could be integrated to specific market niches. The case depicts the overall situation of ChocA? department and the importance of the mining industry to its economy. It also describes OVC's inception and the role played by AMICHOCA? in its creation, and provides a detailed account of the Green Gold program, with an emphasis on its value proposition: a business model that articulated traditional gold production in ChocA? with green international markets. In addition, it recounts the concerns expressed by community representatives with regard to the model's efficiency and its capacity to create economic value. These concerns raised the possibility of building alliances with medium-scale private mechanized mining companies in order to enhance the model's economic impact. Exhibits provide information on the characteristics of ChocA? department, social and environmental impacts of medium-scale mining, environmental conservation criteria governing the Green Gold model, and estimated economic results for conventional mining and mechanized mining operations.
Authors :: Ivan Dario Lobo, Ezequiel Reficco, Ana Lucia Trujillo
Swot Analysis of "Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme" written by Ivan Dario Lobo, Ezequiel Reficco, Ana Lucia Trujillo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Choca Mining facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Strategy, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Choca Mining, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Choca Mining 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Choca Mining
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 Choca Mining
Strengths Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Choca Mining in Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Choca Mining 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 Choca Mining in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Choca Mining in the sector have low bargaining power. Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Choca Mining to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Choca Mining is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Choca Mining 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Choca Mining 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Choca Mining 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.
High brand equity
– Choca Mining has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Choca Mining to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Choca Mining 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Choca Mining 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 Ivan Dario Lobo, Ezequiel Reficco, Ana Lucia Trujillo 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 Choca Mining
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Choca Mining does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Choca Mining has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Choca Mining 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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.
Weaknesses Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Choca Mining is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Choca Mining 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Choca Mining, firm in the HBR case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme, it seems that the employees of Choca Mining 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Choca Mining 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Choca Mining 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Choca Mining products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Choca Mining needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Choca Mining 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme, in the dynamic environment Choca Mining has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Choca Mining has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Choca Mining 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.
Opportunities Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme | 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Choca Mining in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Choca Mining can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Choca Mining 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, Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Choca Mining 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 Choca Mining to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Choca Mining can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Choca Mining 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. Choca Mining 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. Choca Mining 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Choca Mining to increase its market reach. Choca Mining 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, Choca Mining is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Choca Mining can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Choca Mining can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
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 Choca Mining 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Choca Mining can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Choca Mining 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.
Threats Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme are -
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. Choca Mining needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Choca Mining is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Choca Mining has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Choca Mining 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.
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 Choca Mining.
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme, Choca Mining 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Choca Mining with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Choca Mining in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Choca Mining 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Choca Mining 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.
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 Choca Mining 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. Choca Mining 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Green Gold -an Innovative Sustainable Mining Scheme 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 Choca Mining needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
