Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak
The case depicts the first few weeks of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and describes how two organizations, the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, assessed the seriousness of the outbreak. Both organizations have expertise and experience in containing epidemics, and past Ebola outbreaks in particular. These organizations nonetheless reached radically opposite conclusions. The case explores the possible reasons for these differences in predicting the outbreak's evolution.
Swot Analysis of "Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak" written by Francis de Vericourt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ebola Outbreak facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak casestudy better are - – technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ebola Outbreak, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ebola Outbreak
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 Ebola Outbreak
Strengths Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ebola Outbreak in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ebola Outbreak is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ebola Outbreak in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ebola Outbreak has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ebola Outbreak 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Ebola Outbreak has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ebola Outbreak to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ebola Outbreak to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ebola Outbreak to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Ebola Outbreak
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ebola Outbreak does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ebola Outbreak is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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
– Ebola Outbreak 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 Francis de Vericourt 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Ebola Outbreak has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ebola Outbreak 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ebola Outbreak is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ebola Outbreak 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ebola Outbreak is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ebola Outbreak products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ebola Outbreak needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak HBR case study mentions - Ebola Outbreak takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ebola Outbreak, firm in the HBR case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ebola Outbreak 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ebola Outbreak is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Ebola Outbreak needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ebola Outbreak to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak, is just above the industry average. Ebola Outbreak 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.
Opportunities Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak | 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak are -
Loyalty marketing
– Ebola Outbreak 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ebola Outbreak is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ebola Outbreak can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ebola Outbreak operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ebola Outbreak can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ebola Outbreak to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ebola Outbreak has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ebola Outbreak to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak case study. Ebola Outbreak can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ebola Outbreak 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, Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ebola Outbreak 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ebola Outbreak 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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 Ebola Outbreak in the consumer business. Now Ebola Outbreak can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Ebola Outbreak can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ebola Outbreak 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.
Threats Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak, Ebola Outbreak 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ebola Outbreak with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ebola Outbreak 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ebola Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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. Ebola Outbreak needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Ebola Outbreak
– 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 Ebola Outbreak.
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. Ebola Outbreak 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ebola Outbreak 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ebola Outbreak 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ebola Outbreak 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak 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 Ebola Outbreak needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
