The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor
Asociacion Civil Labor is a private non-profit organization founded in 1981 in llo, a city located in an important mining and fishing region in southern Peru. Its original mission was to defend labor rights and promote leadership among workers in the mining industry, but during its first decade of operation this evolved into the defense of sustainable community development and the rights of communities affected by extractive activities. The labor case is particularly relevant for the analysis of some of the typical challenges faced by organizations whose institutional performance e is oriented toward advocacy and the defense of basic citizen rights. Over the years, Labor consolidated itself as an institution and had an important impact on the defense of the environment, the creation of greater awareness of the impact of the extractive activities, and the generation of public policy toward this sector in Peru. This case is particularly interesting because of the close relationship that the NGO maintained with the municipal government, which generated favorable results for the population of llo but also produced dilemmas with regard to the identity, mission, and autonomy of Labor. These dilemmas reached a critical point in 1997, when the proposal to build a new coal-fueled energy plant in an area zoned for tourism and recreation generated contrary opinions among the municipal authorities and the NGO staff, and divided the local population. The decisions that Labor made on this issue would have long term repercussions for the organization, which would have to redefine its relationship with a significant part of the population of llo as well as with municipal authorities and the NGO donors.
Authors :: Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez
Swot Analysis of "The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor" written by Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Labor Llo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Government, Influence, International business, Organizational culture, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions,
there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Labor Llo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Labor Llo
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 Labor Llo
Strengths The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Labor Llo in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Labor Llo 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 Felipe Portocarrero, Cynthia Sanborn, Elsa Del Castillo, Martha Chavez 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Labor Llo 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 Labor Llo is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Labor Llo to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Labor Llo to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Labor Llo has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Labor Llo to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Labor Llo is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 Labor Llo 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Labor Llo is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Labor Llo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Labor Llo has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor, 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 Labor Llo 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Labor Llo is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Labor Llo needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Labor Llo to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor HBR case study mentions - Labor Llo 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Labor Llo 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Labor Llo 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Labor Llo 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 - The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Labor Llo 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 Labor Llo has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Labor Llo 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.
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 Labor Llo supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Labor Llo vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor | 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor are -
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. Labor Llo 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. Labor Llo 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Labor Llo can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Labor Llo 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Labor Llo is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Labor Llo 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 Labor Llo to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Labor Llo to increase its market reach. Labor Llo 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
– Labor Llo can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Labor Llo can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Labor Llo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Labor Llo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor case study. Labor Llo can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Labor Llo in the consumer business. Now Labor Llo can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Labor Llo 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Labor Llo 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.
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 Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 Labor Llo in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Labor Llo 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Labor Llo 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
– Labor Llo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Labor Llo 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.
Environmental challenges
– Labor Llo 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. Labor Llo can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Labor Llo 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Labor Llo with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Labor Llo 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Labor Llo 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Labor Llo 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor .
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 Labor Llo.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor 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 Labor Llo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of The Environment, Development and Participation: the Dilemmas of Asociacion Civil Labor