The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain
Privatization of state-owned enterprises represents a significant realm of business for investment banks around the world. It also involves balancing a number of sometimes conflicting objectives among buyers and sellers and a host of risks for both sides as well as the financial firm itself. This case focuses on a large partial privatization in the Middle East that illustrates all of these issues and came to define the requirements for investment banks to perform successfully in future privatizations.
Swot Analysis of "The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain" written by Ingo Walter, Ilya Bozhenkov includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Privatization Privatizations facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Financial markets, International business, IPO, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Privatization Privatizations, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Privatization Privatizations
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 Privatization Privatizations
Strengths The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Privatization Privatizations in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Privatization Privatizations 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 The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization Privatizations in the sector have low bargaining power. The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Privatization Privatizations to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Privatization Privatizations is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Privatization Privatizations
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Privatization Privatizations 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
– Privatization Privatizations has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Privatization Privatizations 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Privatization Privatizations is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization Privatizations in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Privatization Privatizations has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Privatization Privatizations 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.
Learning organization
- Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization Privatizations is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain, it seems that the employees of Privatization Privatizations 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ingo Walter, Ilya Bozhenkov suggests that, Privatization Privatizations 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Privatization Privatizations 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Privatization Privatizations 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Privatization Privatizations is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Privatization Privatizations needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Privatization Privatizations to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Privatization Privatizations supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Privatization Privatizations vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization Privatizations has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Privatization Privatizations 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. Privatization Privatizations 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Privatization Privatizations is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization Privatizations 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain | 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain are -
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 Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization Privatizations to increase its market reach. Privatization Privatizations 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Privatization Privatizations 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 Privatization Privatizations has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Privatization Privatizations to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain case study. Privatization Privatizations can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Privatization Privatizations 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Privatization Privatizations 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Privatization Privatizations 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Privatization Privatizations can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Privatization Privatizations 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. Privatization Privatizations can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Privatization Privatizations is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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.
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 Privatization Privatizations in the consumer business. Now Privatization Privatizations can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Privatization Privatizations 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Privatization Privatizations 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, The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain are -
Environmental challenges
– Privatization Privatizations 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. Privatization Privatizations can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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. Privatization Privatizations 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.
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. Privatization Privatizations needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Privatization Privatizations 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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 Privatization Privatizations business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Privatization Privatizations in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Privatization Privatizations 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.
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 Privatization Privatizations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Privatization Privatizations 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.
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
– Privatization Privatizations high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Privatization Privatizations is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain, Privatization Privatizations 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization of Aluminium Bahrain 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 Privatization Privatizations needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
