La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version
La Nacion was one of the oldest and most prestigious newspapers in Argentina. The Red Solidaria (Solidarity Network) was a volunteer organization founded in 1995 that had succeeded in using mass media to raise funds for various institutions and individuals who needed high-cost medical treatments abroad. Describes the relationship of a news reporting company, traditionally responsive to public welfare and community issues, and a volunteer organization that had engineered new community awareness mechanisms to respond to urgent family or individual needs. The founder of Red Solidaria gradually built ties with various sectors at La Nacion to develop several news "products," which eventually led to a joint venture: the solidarity ads, published daily on the back of the newspaper's classified ads section. NGOs used the new ads to request donations, and individuals used them to offer volunteer work.
Authors :: Gabriel Berger, Mario Roitter, Cecilia Rena
Topics :: Strategy & Execution
Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version" written by Gabriel Berger, Mario Roitter, Cecilia Rena includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nacion Solidaria facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nacion Solidaria, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nacion Solidaria 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nacion Solidaria
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 Nacion Solidaria
Strengths La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nacion Solidaria in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nacion Solidaria 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nacion Solidaria in the sector have low bargaining power. La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nacion Solidaria to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Nacion Solidaria
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nacion Solidaria does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nacion Solidaria to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nacion Solidaria to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Nacion Solidaria 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 Nacion Solidaria is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Nacion Solidaria is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nacion Solidaria 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Nacion Solidaria 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 Nacion Solidaria in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nacion Solidaria is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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.
Training and development
– Nacion Solidaria has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nacion Solidaria is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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.
Weaknesses La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nacion Solidaria 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 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 Nacion Solidaria supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nacion Solidaria vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Nacion Solidaria has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nacion Solidaria has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nacion Solidaria products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nacion Solidaria needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Nacion Solidaria 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 Nacion Solidaria 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nacion Solidaria 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Nacion Solidaria 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nacion Solidaria, firm in the HBR case study La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nacion Solidaria 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Nacion Solidaria 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version are -
Manufacturing automation
– Nacion Solidaria 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nacion Solidaria 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nacion Solidaria 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 Nacion Solidaria to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nacion Solidaria 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nacion Solidaria 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nacion Solidaria to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nacion Solidaria 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nacion Solidaria 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.
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. Nacion Solidaria can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Nacion Solidaria can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nacion Solidaria can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nacion Solidaria operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Nacion Solidaria in the consumer business. Now Nacion Solidaria can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Nacion Solidaria 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nacion Solidaria 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.
Threats La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nacion Solidaria is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nacion Solidaria 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.
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 Nacion Solidaria.
Regulatory challenges
– Nacion Solidaria 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.
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 Nacion Solidaria business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version, Nacion Solidaria 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nacion Solidaria 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, Spanish Version .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nacion Solidaria 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 Nacion Solidaria with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nacion Solidaria 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 wage structure of Nacion Solidaria
– 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 Nacion Solidaria.
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. Nacion Solidaria needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 La Nacion Newspaper and the Red Solidaria, 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 Nacion Solidaria needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.