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Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A)


Ultra is one of a small group of competing Brazilian petrochemical companies, each of which buys raw material and is a minority owner of Copene, a "cracking" company that provides ethylene and other materials. Because of an industry restructuring, an auction of shares is being held that would provide a controlling position in Copene if Ultra was successful with its bid. Students must decide what Ultra should bid for this controlling position. The case provides cash flows and cost of capital information for estimating the present value of the company. Estimating the amount to bid is complicated by several factors. First, one of the competing owners is a likely bidder in the auction. Thus, if Copene did not win, it would end up with an illiquid minority position in a key supplier that was owned by a competitor. In addition, the valuation must take into account the uncertain Brazilian economic environment. Finally, the CEO and other senior decision makers have an ownership stake in Ultra, so they have a significant incentive not to overpay and destroy shareholder value.

Authors :: Dwight B. Crane, Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial management, Managing uncertainty, Negotiations, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A)" written by Dwight B. Crane, Ricardo Reisen de Pinho includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ultra Copene facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Managing uncertainty, Negotiations and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ultra Copene, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ultra Copene 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ultra Copene
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ultra Copene




Strengths Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ultra Copene in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Innovation driven organization

– Ultra Copene is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Ultra Copene 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.

Learning organization

- Ultra Copene 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 Ultra Copene is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Ultra Copene has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ultra Copene 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.

Organizational Resilience of Ultra Copene

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ultra Copene does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Ultra Copene 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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.

Analytics focus

– Ultra Copene is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Dwight B. Crane, Ricardo Reisen de Pinho can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Diverse revenue streams

– Ultra Copene is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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.

Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field

– Ultra Copene 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 Ultra Copene in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Ultra Copene is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ultra Copene in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra Copene 's lucrative customers.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra Copene has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), in the dynamic environment Ultra Copene has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ultra Copene has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ultra Copene is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

High 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 Ultra Copene supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ultra Copene vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), is just above the industry average. Ultra Copene 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Ultra Copene 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 - Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ultra Copene is planning to shift buying processes online.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), it seems that the employees of Ultra Copene 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 decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ultra Copene 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. Ultra Copene 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.




Opportunities Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) | 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ultra Copene has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ultra Copene to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) case study. Ultra Copene can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Ultra Copene 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ultra Copene to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ultra Copene 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. Ultra Copene 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ultra Copene 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, Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ultra Copene in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Ultra Copene 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 Finance & Accounting segment.

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. Ultra Copene can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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 Ultra Copene in the consumer business. Now Ultra Copene can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ultra Copene 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 Ultra Copene to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ultra Copene to increase its market reach. Ultra Copene 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Ultra Copene 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Ultra Copene can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ultra Copene 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.




Threats Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) are -

Increasing wage structure of Ultra Copene

– 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 Ultra Copene.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Ultra Copene 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.

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 Ultra Copene.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A), Ultra Copene may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ultra Copene has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ultra Copene needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Environmental challenges

– Ultra Copene 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. Ultra Copene can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ultra Copene with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. Ultra Copene 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ultra Copene in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Ultra Copene 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Ultra Copene 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.

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 Ultra Copene business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ultra Copene 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A) 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 Ultra Copene needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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