Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version
Samarco produced iron ore pellets used for making steel. In 2003, the company had a 17% share of the global market of the product. At the time it had 1,286 employees, split between its units in Germano, in the State of Minas Gerais, and Ponta de Ubu, in the State of EspA?rito Santo.The two units were linked by an ore conveyor 396 km long, with a maximum carrying capacity of 15.5 million tons a year. The company's mission was "to be a Brazilian supplier of high quality iron for the global steel industry, creating value for all its stakeholders". In line with this guideline, between 1997 and 2003, Samarco coordinated and financed the Bento Rodrigues Popular Environmental Education program. The aim was to contribute to the development of the community living in the Bento Rodrigues district, by gaining the commitment of the residents for identifying community problems and seeking solutions that might increase local development. In spite of the reach of concrete results, after the end of the direct intervention undertaken by the company, a decline in the participation of the community was perceived, along with the discontinuity of the actions begun. In 2003, the need to build a second ore conveyor provided Samarco with a new opportunity for interacting with the communities. Its prior experience with the Bento Rodrigues Popular Environmental Education Program caused the Environment Manager to propose a new social project concept for the company, called the Social Responsibility Education and Communication Program - PROECOS. This program, to be implemented in partnership with GAIA (Group for Interdisciplinary Application to Learning) had broad objectives: to improve the company's image; to involve the communities in the preparation of sustainable social-environmental projects and to build a network of partners for meeting local demands and proceeding with development actions after the end of the company's involvement in the Program. For other managers, however, simpler technical projects had achieved more satisfactory results and would be more in line with the company's business strategy. So, why not continue to pursue projects already tried and tested rather than betting on such extensive and complex ones? These fierce internal controversies culminated in a dilemma as to whether or not the company's way of operating socially should be changed.
Authors :: Rosa Maria Fischer, Paulo Da Rocha Ferreira Borba, Luciana Rocha De Mendonca, Monica Bose
Swot Analysis of "Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version" written by Rosa Maria Fischer, Paulo Da Rocha Ferreira Borba, Luciana Rocha De Mendonca, Monica Bose includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Samarco Rodrigues facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Social responsibility, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Samarco Rodrigues, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Samarco Rodrigues
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 Samarco Rodrigues
Strengths Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Samarco Rodrigues in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Samarco Rodrigues has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Samarco Rodrigues to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco Rodrigues is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Samarco Rodrigues in the sector have low bargaining power. Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Samarco Rodrigues to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Samarco Rodrigues to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Samarco Rodrigues to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Samarco Rodrigues is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Samarco Rodrigues is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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
– Samarco Rodrigues has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco Rodrigues in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Samarco Rodrigues digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Samarco Rodrigues has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Samarco Rodrigues, firm in the HBR case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosa Maria Fischer, Paulo Da Rocha Ferreira Borba, Luciana Rocha De Mendonca, Monica Bose suggests that, Samarco Rodrigues is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Samarco Rodrigues is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version, is just above the industry average. Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Samarco Rodrigues 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Samarco Rodrigues has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Samarco Rodrigues even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Need for greater diversity
– Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Samarco Rodrigues is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version | 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Samarco Rodrigues can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Samarco Rodrigues can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Samarco Rodrigues operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Samarco Rodrigues 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, Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version, 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
– Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Samarco Rodrigues 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.
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. Samarco Rodrigues 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. Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Samarco Rodrigues is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco Rodrigues to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Samarco Rodrigues has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Samarco Rodrigues to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version case study. Samarco Rodrigues can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Samarco Rodrigues 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 Samarco Rodrigues 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.
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 Samarco Rodrigues in the consumer business. Now Samarco Rodrigues can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Samarco Rodrigues can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version are -
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.
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. Samarco Rodrigues needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Samarco Rodrigues 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.
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 Samarco Rodrigues.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Samarco Rodrigues has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Samarco Rodrigues 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Samarco Rodrigues with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Samarco Rodrigues business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Samarco Rodrigues 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version, Samarco Rodrigues 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 .
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 wage structure of Samarco Rodrigues
– 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 Samarco Rodrigues.
Environmental challenges
– Samarco Rodrigues 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. Samarco Rodrigues can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco: the role of businesses in empowering people, Portuguese Version 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 Samarco Rodrigues needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.