The Incident in Kabul SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Incident in Kabul
Captain William Waverly was a member of the US Army's forces in Afghanistan, and was stationed in a post in western Kabul, beginning in late 2011. He was the commander of this post, one of the several bases in that city. US soldiers guarded the power plant located at this post. Waverly and his team also launched the security and stability operations from this location. For this latter function, the US Army always conducted security and stability operations jointly with the Afghan municipal police forces. To conduct these operations, the US government had supplied fuel to the Afghan forces to operate their armored vehicles for city patrols. However, to begin to ensure that the Afghan government was now developing and perfecting its own fuel acquisition, storage, protection, and distribution processes, the two-star US Army general in this region in Afghanistan ordered, in early 2012, all US units to stop providing fuel to the Afghan forces. The objective of this order was to make the Afghan government self-reliant on its own fuel procurement and protection processes. A few days after the order to stop providing fuel to Afghan forces, Afghan police armored trucks pulled into the post for a patrol and expected gas. A tense situation quickly developed. The head of the Afghan forces, Ghotai Sharma, upon learning from one of Waverly's sergeants that he was not getting gasoline that day, became upset. Sharma drew his pistol, started gesticulating and raised his voice. Sharma's troops swung their gun turrets from their armored vehicles toward the US soldiers and Waverly heard the familiar metallic click associated with Sharma's troops chambering an ammunition round in an AK-47 weapon. At the same time, he heard in his earpiece the chattering from his own US troops as they coordinated who was covering what target among the Afghan police should a firefight break out. In the not too distant past, Waverly had lost, at the hands of Afghan forces who were living as allies with the US troops, a fellow officer, who was Waverly's roommate in Afghanistan. He knew that his next few steps would be critical in this emerging conflict situation.
Swot Analysis of "The Incident in Kabul" written by Karen E. Boroff, Matthew Pratt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Afghan Waverly facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Incident in Kabul case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Government, International business, Leadership, Negotiations, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Incident in Kabul casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Incident in Kabul
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Incident in Kabul case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Afghan Waverly, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Afghan Waverly 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 Incident in Kabul can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Incident in Kabul case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Afghan Waverly
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Afghan Waverly
Strengths The Incident in Kabul | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Afghan Waverly in The Incident in Kabul Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– The Incident in Kabul firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Afghan Waverly to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Afghan Waverly to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Afghan Waverly is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Incident in Kabul Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Afghan Waverly 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 recruit top talent
– Afghan Waverly is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Incident in Kabul 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
– Afghan Waverly has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Afghan Waverly 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Afghan Waverly is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Afghan Waverly 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 The Incident in Kabul HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Afghan Waverly has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Afghan Waverly to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Afghan Waverly 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 Incident in Kabul - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Afghan Waverly in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Afghan Waverly
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Afghan Waverly does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Afghan Waverly has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Incident in Kabul 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.
Weaknesses The Incident in Kabul | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Incident in Kabul are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Incident in Kabul 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 Afghan Waverly 's lucrative customers.
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 Afghan Waverly supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Incident in Kabul, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Afghan Waverly vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Karen E. Boroff, Matthew Pratt suggests that, Afghan Waverly 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Incident in Kabul 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 Afghan Waverly has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Afghan Waverly 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Afghan Waverly products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Afghan Waverly needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Incident in Kabul 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 Incident in Kabul can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Afghan Waverly is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Afghan Waverly 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Incident in Kabul, is just above the industry average. Afghan Waverly 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Incident in Kabul, it seems that the employees of Afghan Waverly 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Afghan Waverly 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.
Opportunities The Incident in Kabul | 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 Incident in Kabul are -
Buying journey improvements
– Afghan Waverly can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Incident in Kabul 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Afghan Waverly to increase its market reach. Afghan Waverly 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Afghan Waverly can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
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 Afghan Waverly 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.
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. Afghan Waverly can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Afghan Waverly 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Afghan Waverly 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Afghan Waverly 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 Incident in Kabul, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Afghan Waverly 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, Afghan Waverly can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Afghan Waverly operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Afghan Waverly 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 Afghan Waverly to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Afghan Waverly in the consumer business. Now Afghan Waverly can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Afghan Waverly 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 Incident in Kabul - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Afghan Waverly to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats The Incident in Kabul External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Incident in Kabul are -
Environmental challenges
– Afghan Waverly 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. Afghan Waverly can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Afghan Waverly 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Afghan Waverly 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.
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 Incident in Kabul, Afghan Waverly may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Afghan Waverly can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Afghan Waverly with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Afghan Waverly 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Afghan Waverly 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 The Incident in Kabul .
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. Afghan Waverly needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Afghan Waverly in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
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 Afghan Waverly.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Incident in Kabul 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 Incident in Kabul 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 Incident in Kabul 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 Incident in Kabul 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 Incident in Kabul 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 Afghan Waverly needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
