The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE)
Bell Canada, a publicly listed Canadian telecom firm, receives takeover offers from LBO (leveraged buyout) firms. A strategic acquirer, Telus, is also potentially interested. The case describes the synergies and efficiency gains available to both types of acquirer, which allows for a discussion about the respective contributions that a financial buyer (PE/LBO firm) and a strategic acquirer could bring to the target firm.
Authors :: Laurence Capron, Lori Einheiber, Urs Peyer
Swot Analysis of "The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE)" written by Laurence Capron, Lori Einheiber, Urs Peyer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Acquirer Bell facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Acquirer Bell, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Acquirer Bell 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Acquirer Bell
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Acquirer Bell
Strengths The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Acquirer Bell in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Acquirer Bell is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Acquirer Bell
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Acquirer Bell does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Acquirer Bell 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 Acquirer Bell is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Acquirer Bell in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Acquirer Bell 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 Laurence Capron, Lori Einheiber, Urs Peyer 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Acquirer Bell is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Acquirer Bell has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Acquirer Bell 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Acquirer Bell digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Acquirer Bell 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.
Training and development
– Acquirer Bell has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Acquirer Bell 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Acquirer Bell 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 Acquirer Bell in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), is just above the industry average. Acquirer Bell 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 The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), in the dynamic environment Acquirer Bell has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Acquirer Bell has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Acquirer Bell 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Acquirer Bell needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Acquirer Bell 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Acquirer Bell 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 - The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Acquirer Bell 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Acquirer Bell is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Acquirer Bell 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Acquirer Bell is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Acquirer Bell needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Acquirer Bell to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Acquirer Bell products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Acquirer Bell needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) | 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Acquirer Bell in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Acquirer Bell has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Acquirer Bell to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) case study. Acquirer Bell can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Acquirer Bell 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Acquirer Bell to increase its market reach. Acquirer Bell 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Acquirer Bell 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Acquirer Bell 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Acquirer Bell can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Acquirer Bell operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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. Acquirer Bell can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Acquirer Bell can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Acquirer Bell 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Acquirer Bell to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Acquirer Bell can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Acquirer Bell 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
– Acquirer Bell can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) are -
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.
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 Acquirer Bell 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Acquirer Bell 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.
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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), Acquirer Bell may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Acquirer Bell can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Acquirer Bell 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Acquirer Bell is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Acquirer Bell 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.
Environmental challenges
– Acquirer Bell 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. Acquirer Bell can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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. Acquirer Bell needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Acquirer Bell 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.
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 Acquirer Bell.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) 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 Acquirer Bell needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
