Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma
The director of Lands and Economic Development in the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) must make recommendations on how to handle challenges around a large farming company that leases land from First Nations communities in Western Canada. New Horizon Farms (NHF) has already leased over 180,000 acres from First Nations communities and plans to grow to one million acres. An immediate challenge is the leasing process whereby INAC must review and sign leases and receive lease payments, which are later turned over to the First Nations. The process slows the partnering process and the speed of cash flow to First Nations and many First Nations object to government control over their land on principle. However, without INAC involved, the leases are not legally enforceable, an essential factor for NHF and its public parent company. NHF provides leasing revenue but also training, employment, and shares in the company to the First Nations it partners with. On the surface it looks like a good opportunity, but it raises several questions for policy makers. Will NHF's control of one million acres of First Nations land be seen as a form of economic colonialism? How does this kind of initiative fit with INAC's and First Nations' mandates to improve economic and social conditions among First Nations communities? How will the provinces and neighbouring communities perceive and react to the situation? New Horizon Farms also needs to consider its long-term strategy. Will the operation meet its target of one million acres? What are the risks for the company? How should it approach the training issue now that funding has finished?
Swot Analysis of "Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma" written by David Sparling, Steven Koeckhoven includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nations Inac facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nations Inac, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nations Inac 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nations Inac
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 Nations Inac
Strengths Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nations Inac in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nations Inac to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nations Inac to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Nations Inac is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Nations Inac has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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.
Organizational Resilience of Nations Inac
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nations Inac does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nations Inac has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nations Inac 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nations Inac are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nations Inac in the sector have low bargaining power. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nations Inac to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nations Inac 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nations Inac 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Nations Inac 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 Nations Inac in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nations Inac digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nations Inac 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.
Weaknesses Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nations Inac, firm in the HBR case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nations Inac is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nations Inac 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nations Inac 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 - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Nations Inac has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nations Inac has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma, is just above the industry average. Nations Inac 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.
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 Nations Inac supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nations Inac vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nations Inac is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David Sparling, Steven Koeckhoven suggests that, Nations Inac is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Opportunities Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma | 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nations Inac 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nations Inac to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Nations Inac 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nations Inac has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nations Inac to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma case study. Nations Inac can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nations Inac 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, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nations Inac to increase its market reach. Nations Inac 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nations Inac is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nations Inac 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.
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. Nations Inac can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nations Inac 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.
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 Nations Inac in the consumer business. Now Nations Inac 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 Nations Inac can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nations Inac 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nations Inac 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.
Threats Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nations Inac 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nations Inac 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nations Inac can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Nations Inac 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. Nations Inac can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nations Inac 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nations Inac is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Nations Inac
– 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 Nations Inac.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nations Inac 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
– Nations Inac 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.
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. Nations Inac 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nations Inac with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma, Nations Inac 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 Nations Inac business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - The New Horizon Farms Dilemma 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 Nations Inac needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.