Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version
By 2000, Natura was a leader in the Brazilian cosmetics and personal care industry. The company had participated in social projects developed in communities surrounding its plants and offices. However, when it launched the Ekos product line, Natura drove social responsibility to the core of its business. Ekos' distinctive feature was its rooting in Brazilian biodiversity. The new product line incorporated several substances that had been used only by traditional indigenous communities in the hinterlands. Instead of simply buying the raw materials from them, Natura built a partnership with these communities to share with them the economic benefits resulting from responsible resource exploration. These communities had the key expertise needed to develop Ekos products and lived in extremely primitive conditions at remote locations. Thus, Ekos' success would potentially affect their living conditions dramatically. The civil society organization Imaflora also participated in the alliance to ensure that this natural resource exploration was socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.
Authors :: Rosa Maria Fischer, Tania Casado
Topics :: Strategy & Execution
Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version" written by Rosa Maria Fischer, Tania Casado includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ekos Natura facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ekos Natura, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ekos Natura 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ekos Natura
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 Ekos Natura
Strengths Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ekos Natura in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Ekos Natura is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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.
Training and development
– Ekos Natura has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Ekos Natura has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ekos Natura to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ekos Natura digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ekos Natura 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ekos Natura 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
– Ekos Natura is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Ekos Natura 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 Ekos Natura is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ekos Natura is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ekos Natura 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ekos Natura to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ekos Natura to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Ekos Natura is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Ekos Natura has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ekos Natura has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version 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 Ekos Natura has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ekos Natura products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ekos Natura needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ekos Natura 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 - Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version 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, Ekos Natura 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Ekos Natura 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Ekos Natura 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version 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 Ekos Natura 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ekos Natura 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ekos Natura is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Ekos Natura needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ekos Natura to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ekos Natura, firm in the HBR case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ekos Natura 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 Ekos Natura to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Ekos Natura 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ekos Natura 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ekos Natura 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ekos Natura to increase its market reach. Ekos Natura 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ekos Natura has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ekos Natura to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Ekos Natura in the consumer business. Now Ekos Natura can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ekos Natura is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ekos Natura can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ekos Natura 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ekos Natura can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version 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.
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. Ekos Natura can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Ekos Natura can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version are -
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. Ekos Natura 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.
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. Ekos Natura needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Ekos Natura
– 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 Ekos Natura.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ekos Natura 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.
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version, Ekos Natura 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Ekos Natura 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ekos Natura has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ekos Natura 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.
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 Ekos Natura in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ekos Natura with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ekos Natura 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish Version .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ekos Natura 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Natura-Ekos: From the Forest to Cajamar, Spanish 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 Ekos Natura needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.