IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance
BP's IR director has begun a program to use information regarding external views of BP and the industry as part of the firm's planning and operational activities. This information is generated as a portion of their award winning investor relations program, and had previously been used only to enhance communications. Allows a discussion of the relative merit of more formally including this information in BP's planning and operations. Also provides "best practices" insights into IR.
Authors :: Daniela Beyersdorfer, Gregory S. Miller, Anders Sjoman
Swot Analysis of "IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance" written by Daniela Beyersdorfer, Gregory S. Miller, Anders Sjoman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ir Bp's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Corporate communications, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, IT, Operations management and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ir Bp's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ir Bp's 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ir Bp's
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 Ir Bp's
Strengths IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ir Bp's in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ir Bp's in the sector have low bargaining power. IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ir Bp's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Ir Bp's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ir Bp's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ir Bp's 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ir Bp's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ir Bp's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ir Bp's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ir Bp's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ir Bp's 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ir Bp's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ir Bp's 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.
Learning organization
- Ir Bp's 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 Ir Bp's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ir Bp's 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Ir Bp's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 Ir Bp's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ir Bp's 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ir Bp's 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 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 Ir Bp's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ir Bp's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ir Bp's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 Ir Bp's 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ir Bp's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ir Bp's 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 - IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance, it seems that the employees of Ir Bp's 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance HBR case study mentions - Ir Bp's 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.
Opportunities IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance | 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ir Bp's 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, IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Ir Bp's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ir Bp's 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ir Bp's 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.
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 Ir Bp's in the consumer business. Now Ir Bp's 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. Ir Bp's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ir Bp's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ir Bp's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance case study. Ir Bp's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Ir Bp's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ir Bp's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ir Bp's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ir Bp's 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, Ir Bp's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ir Bp's 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ir Bp's 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
– Ir Bp's 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.
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 Ir Bp's.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ir Bp's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ir Bp's 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.
Increasing wage structure of Ir Bp's
– 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 Ir Bp's.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ir Bp's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Ir Bp's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Ir Bp's 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ir Bp's 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
– Ir Bp's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance, Ir Bp's 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 .
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.
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 Ir Bp's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 IR at BP: Investor Relations and Information Reconnaissance 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 Ir Bp's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.