Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation

Autopistas del Sol (AUSOL) was a company that had originated in a partnership constituted in 1994, when it was selected, through a public bidding process, to build and manage two of the main highways in the city of Buenos Aires. The SES Foundation was a nonprofit organization informally founded in 1998 and created by a group of professionals focused on developing informal educational programs for the social integration of poor youngsters. One of its outstanding programs was Community Study Groups (CSG), an initiative it carried out with AUSOL to boost schooling in two of the neighborhoods surrounding one AUSOL-managed highway. The case takes place in late 2001, a few months before the onset of the crisis that impacted Argentina. Focuses on the potential changes and risks entailed for the CSG program by AUSOL's decision to try to look for other sponsoring companies for the program. Although this strategy aimed to ensure program continuity, it also brought about a series of dilemmas for both organizations.

Authors :: Mario Roitter, Gabriel Berger, Cecilia Rena

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation" written by Mario Roitter, Gabriel Berger, Cecilia Rena includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ausol Csg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ausol Csg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ausol Csg 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ausol Csg
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 Ausol Csg

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Strengths Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ausol Csg in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Ausol Csg 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 Ausol Csg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High brand equity

– Ausol Csg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ausol Csg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Ausol Csg in the sector have low bargaining power. Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ausol Csg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Learning organization

- Ausol Csg 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 Ausol Csg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Ausol Csg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Ausol Csg 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ausol Csg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Ausol Csg is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Analytics focus

– Ausol Csg 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 Mario Roitter, Gabriel Berger, Cecilia Rena 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.

Training and development

– Ausol Csg has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Ausol Csg

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ausol Csg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

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Weaknesses Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation are -

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Ausol Csg 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Ausol Csg 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Ausol Csg has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Need for greater diversity

– Ausol Csg 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Ausol Csg 's lucrative customers.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ausol Csg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ausol Csg 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Ausol Csg, firm in the HBR case study Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ausol Csg 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Ausol Csg 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ausol Csg 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. Ausol Csg 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.

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Opportunities Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation | 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ausol Csg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ausol Csg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation case study. Ausol Csg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ausol Csg 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Ausol Csg 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ausol Csg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ausol Csg to increase its market reach. Ausol Csg 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Ausol Csg 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ausol Csg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Manufacturing automation

– Ausol Csg 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ausol Csg 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ausol Csg 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ausol Csg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ausol Csg 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 Ausol Csg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Buying journey improvements

– Ausol Csg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

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. Ausol Csg 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. Ausol Csg 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.

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Threats Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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.

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. Ausol Csg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ausol Csg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ausol Csg 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Ausol Csg is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Ausol Csg in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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 Ausol Csg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation, Ausol Csg 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 .

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ausol Csg 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation .

Increasing wage structure of Ausol Csg

– 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 Ausol Csg.

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ausol Csg 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Ausol Csg 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.

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 Ausol Csg.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Developing Allies and Alliances: Autopistas del Sol and SES Foundation 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 Ausol Csg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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