Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring

The (B) case describes the actions taken by Royal Dutch Shell's CEO and his management team to maintain their commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I), as introduced in the (A) case, during a major restructuring of the whole organization.

Authors :: Sandra J. Sucher, Daniela Beyersdorfer

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Diversity, International business, Leadership, Leading teams, Reorganization, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring" written by Sandra J. Sucher, Daniela Beyersdorfer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Inclusion Dutch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, International business, Leadership, Leading teams, Reorganization and Technology & Operations.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Inclusion Dutch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Inclusion Dutch 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Inclusion Dutch
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Inclusion Dutch

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Strengths Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Inclusion Dutch in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring Harvard Business Review case study are -

High brand equity

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

Highly skilled collaborators

– Inclusion Dutch 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

– Inclusion Dutch is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Superior customer experience

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

Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field

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

Learning organization

- Inclusion Dutch 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 Inclusion Dutch is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Organizational Resilience of Inclusion Dutch

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

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Inclusion Dutch digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Inclusion Dutch 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Inclusion Dutch is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Inclusion Dutch has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Inclusion Dutch 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Inclusion Dutch 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Inclusion Dutch is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

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Weaknesses Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring are -

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 Inclusion Dutch supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Inclusion Dutch vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Inclusion Dutch is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Inclusion Dutch 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Inclusion Dutch 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Inclusion Dutch has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Inclusion Dutch, firm in the HBR case study Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring, it seems that the employees of Inclusion Dutch don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Inclusion Dutch 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

Inclusion Dutch has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Lack of clear differentiation of Inclusion Dutch products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Inclusion Dutch needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Inclusion Dutch 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.

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Opportunities Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring | 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring are -

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Inclusion Dutch 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 Technology & Operations segment.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Buying journey improvements

– Inclusion Dutch can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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.

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 Inclusion Dutch 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Inclusion Dutch can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Inclusion Dutch 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Inclusion Dutch to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Inclusion Dutch can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Inclusion Dutch operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Loyalty marketing

– Inclusion Dutch 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Inclusion Dutch in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Better consumer reach

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

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Inclusion Dutch 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. Inclusion Dutch 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Inclusion Dutch 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.

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Threats Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Inclusion Dutch has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Inclusion Dutch needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Inclusion Dutch can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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.

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 Inclusion Dutch in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Inclusion Dutch is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Inclusion Dutch 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring .

Environmental challenges

– Inclusion Dutch 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. Inclusion Dutch can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

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 Inclusion Dutch.

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. Inclusion Dutch needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations 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. Inclusion Dutch 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Inclusion Dutch 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Inclusion Dutch in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring 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 Inclusion Dutch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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