Case Study Description of Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation
Enerplus Corporation was a company transitioning from being a buy-and-sell energy trust to one engaged in exploration and exploitation. The company required two new board members and Sue MacKenzie's name was proposed to the CEO by the Enerplus vice president of corporate services. While MacKenzie was intrigued with the idea, she had never actively considered board service as a career step and she now had a new career direction at the Banff Centre. She undertook a thorough assessment of this board opportunity with attention to the career benefits, personal benefits, potential risks, impact on her personal life, and "match" with her new career. Following a series of meetings, MacKenzie was invited to serve on the board and she now had to make a decision: should she accept or decline the invitation?
Swot Analysis of "Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation" written by Malcolm Munro, Michael Maher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Enerplus Mackenzie facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Enerplus Mackenzie, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Enerplus Mackenzie
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 Enerplus Mackenzie
Strengths Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Enerplus Mackenzie in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Enerplus Mackenzie has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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.
Analytics focus
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Malcolm Munro, Michael Maher 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Enerplus Mackenzie in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Enerplus Mackenzie digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Enerplus Mackenzie has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Enerplus Mackenzie to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Enerplus Mackenzie to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Enerplus Mackenzie
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Enerplus Mackenzie is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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.
High brand equity
– Enerplus Mackenzie has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Enerplus Mackenzie to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Enerplus Mackenzie has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Lack of clear differentiation of Enerplus Mackenzie products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Enerplus Mackenzie needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Mackenzie has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Enerplus Mackenzie 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 - Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation, is just above the industry average. Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation, in the dynamic environment Enerplus Mackenzie has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Enerplus Mackenzie has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Mackenzie is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Enerplus Mackenzie needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Enerplus Mackenzie to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Enerplus Mackenzie supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Enerplus Mackenzie vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation | 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Mackenzie to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Enerplus Mackenzie to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Enerplus Mackenzie can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Enerplus Mackenzie can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Enerplus Mackenzie operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Enerplus Mackenzie 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, Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Enerplus Mackenzie can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
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 Enerplus Mackenzie in the consumer business. Now Enerplus Mackenzie can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Enerplus Mackenzie 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. Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation are -
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. Enerplus Mackenzie needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
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 Enerplus Mackenzie.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Increasing wage structure of Enerplus Mackenzie
– 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 Enerplus Mackenzie.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Enerplus Mackenzie 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Enerplus Mackenzie with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Enerplus Mackenzie business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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. Enerplus Mackenzie can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Enerplus Mackenzie 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Enerplus Mackenzie is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Corporation: Assessing the Board Invitation 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 Enerplus Mackenzie needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
