The Rise and Fall of Petrobras SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Rise and Fall of Petrobras
From humble beginnings, PetrA?leo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) became one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies, gaining a reputation for sound leadership and strong technical expertise. By the mid-2000s the company was often cited as one of the best managed national oil companies. By 2016 Petrobras was in a very different position. The company was embroiled in a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal and was one of the most indebted companies in the world. The decade-long corruption scheme reached the highest levels of business and Brazilian politics - Brazil's President, Dilma Rousseff, was the chairwoman of the Petrobras board from 2003 to 2010. Several senior Petrobras executives and Brazilian politicians had been arrested on allegations of bid rigging and bribery and more arrests were likely. In 2015 Petrobras was forced to write down the value of its assets by $14.9 billion and take a $2.1 billion charge for the scandal. Capital investments would be reduced significantly over the next five years in order to reduce debt and help recover investor confidence.
Swot Analysis of "The Rise and Fall of Petrobras" written by Andrew C. Inkpen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Petrobras Corruption facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, International business and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Rise and Fall of Petrobras casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Rise and Fall of Petrobras
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Petrobras Corruption, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Petrobras Corruption
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 Petrobras Corruption
Strengths The Rise and Fall of Petrobras | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Petrobras Corruption in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Petrobras Corruption in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Petrobras Corruption is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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.
Analytics focus
– Petrobras Corruption 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 Andrew C. Inkpen 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Petrobras Corruption is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Rise and Fall of Petrobras are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Petrobras Corruption 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.
High brand equity
– Petrobras Corruption has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Petrobras Corruption to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Petrobras Corruption has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– The Rise and Fall of Petrobras firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Petrobras Corruption to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Petrobras Corruption to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Petrobras Corruption 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 Petrobras Corruption is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Rise and Fall of Petrobras Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Petrobras Corruption has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Petrobras Corruption 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Rise and Fall of Petrobras are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Petrobras Corruption 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Petrobras Corruption is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Petrobras Corruption needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Petrobras Corruption to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras, is just above the industry average. Petrobras Corruption 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras, it seems that the employees of Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 Petrobras Corruption 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Rise and Fall of Petrobras HBR case study mentions - Petrobras Corruption 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Petrobras Corruption products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Petrobras Corruption needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras, in the dynamic environment Petrobras Corruption has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Petrobras Corruption has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Petrobras Corruption 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. Petrobras Corruption 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Petrobras Corruption is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Petrobras Corruption 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.
Opportunities The Rise and Fall of Petrobras | 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Petrobras Corruption can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Petrobras Corruption operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Petrobras Corruption in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Petrobras Corruption 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Petrobras Corruption 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 Petrobras Corruption to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Petrobras Corruption 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Petrobras Corruption to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Petrobras Corruption 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Petrobras Corruption 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Petrobras Corruption to increase its market reach. Petrobras Corruption 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Petrobras Corruption 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. Petrobras Corruption 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Petrobras Corruption 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Petrobras Corruption can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Petrobras Corruption 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.
Threats The Rise and Fall of Petrobras External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Petrobras Corruption is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Petrobras Corruption 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras .
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. Petrobras Corruption needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Rise and Fall of Petrobras, Petrobras Corruption 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Petrobras Corruption has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Petrobras Corruption 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.
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 Petrobras Corruption.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Petrobras Corruption 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Petrobras Corruption with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Petrobras Corruption 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. Petrobras Corruption can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Petrobras Corruption 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.
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 Petrobras Corruption business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 The Rise and Fall of Petrobras 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 Petrobras Corruption needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.