Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances
Pibrex is one of the world's largest developers of petrochemical-based polymers for the plastics market. The company has purchased a plant in Russia and after three years of serious operating losses has appointed a new general manager of the plant. The plant lacks a strong organizational culture; communications within and between departments are poor; inequity in wages, working conditions, and training exist but motivation and retention problems are prevalent; Pibrex headquarters is losing interest in the Russian operation; and two subcultures exist within the Pibrex Russia organization. The general manager must develop an action plan that can turn operations around with minimal expense to Pibrex.
Swot Analysis of "Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances" written by Rachel Doern, Carl Fey includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pibrex Russia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Corporate governance and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pibrex Russia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pibrex Russia 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pibrex Russia
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 Pibrex Russia
Strengths Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pibrex Russia in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Pibrex Russia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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.
Learning organization
- Pibrex Russia 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 Pibrex Russia is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pibrex Russia 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pibrex Russia is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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.
Organizational Resilience of Pibrex Russia
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pibrex Russia does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Pibrex Russia in the sector have low bargaining power. Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Pibrex Russia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Pibrex Russia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pibrex Russia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pibrex Russia is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pibrex Russia digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pibrex Russia 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Pibrex Russia is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pibrex Russia 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Pibrex Russia is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pibrex Russia 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Pibrex Russia 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Pibrex Russia has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pibrex Russia 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pibrex Russia products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pibrex Russia needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pibrex Russia is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pibrex Russia, firm in the HBR case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pibrex Russia 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. Pibrex Russia 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances, is just above the industry average. Pibrex Russia 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.
Opportunities Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances | 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances are -
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. Pibrex Russia can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pibrex Russia 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
– Pibrex Russia 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pibrex Russia to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pibrex Russia is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pibrex Russia has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pibrex Russia to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances case study. Pibrex Russia can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pibrex Russia 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pibrex Russia 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.
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. Pibrex Russia can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pibrex Russia 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 Pibrex Russia to increase its market reach. Pibrex Russia 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Pibrex Russia 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.
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 Pibrex Russia in the consumer business. Now Pibrex Russia can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pibrex Russia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pibrex Russia 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances, Pibrex Russia 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 .
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 Pibrex Russia 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Pibrex Russia 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.
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 Pibrex Russia 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 Pibrex Russia with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pibrex Russia has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pibrex Russia 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pibrex Russia 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 Pibrex Russia
– 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 Pibrex Russia.
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.
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. Pibrex Russia 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Pibrex Russia 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Managing Pibrex Russia (A): New Crisis, Old Grievances 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 Pibrex Russia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
