"ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War
In 2012, Argentine media conglomerate Grupo ClarA?n and President Cristina FernA?ndez de Kirchner were embroiled in what some called "the mother of all battles." Grupo ClarA?n was one of the preeminent media companies in Argentina, with leading newspapers, cable television and Internet services, and broadcast television and radio stations. Some critics contended the company had prospered over several decades by managing relationships with governments of varying political color, such as with NA?stor Kirchner (2003-2007), the popular president who helped lead the country out of the financial crisis. But its relationship with the government changed in 2008 when a divisive agricultural export tax sparked a conflict between Grupo ClarA?n and President Cristina Kirchner, NA?stor Kirchner's wife and successor. Then in 2009, in a call for "democratizing" the media, Cristina Kirchner introduced a media reform law that would significantly limit Grupo ClarA?n's operations. By 2012, the conglomerate had delayed the law's implementation through the courts, but would likely have to restructure to accommodate the new regulatory environment. The case allows students to consider the assumptions that underlie media regulation and to debate the role of media in society. It may also be used to discuss how to evaluate a business decision in an uncertain regulatory environment.
Authors :: Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti, Sarah McAra
Swot Analysis of ""ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War" written by Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti, Sarah McAra includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kirchner Clara?n facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Managing uncertainty, Risk management and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kirchner Clara?n, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kirchner Clara?n 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kirchner Clara?n
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kirchner Clara?n
Strengths "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kirchner Clara?n in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Kirchner Clara?n 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 Kirchner Clara?n is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Kirchner Clara?n has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kirchner Clara?n digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Analytics focus
– Kirchner Clara?n 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 Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti, Sarah McAra 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.
Organizational Resilience of Kirchner Clara?n
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kirchner Clara?n 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
– Kirchner Clara?n has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kirchner Clara?n 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 Kirchner Clara?n in the sector have low bargaining power. "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kirchner Clara?n to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kirchner Clara?n to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kirchner Clara?n to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Kirchner Clara?n has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kirchner Clara?n to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War, in the dynamic environment Kirchner Clara?n has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kirchner Clara?n has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Kirchner Clara?n supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kirchner Clara?n 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, Kirchner Clara?n is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kirchner Clara?n products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kirchner Clara?n needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kirchner Clara?n 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti, Sarah McAra suggests that, Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War, is just above the industry average. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kirchner Clara?n has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 Kirchner Clara?n 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kirchner Clara?n is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Kirchner Clara?n needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kirchner Clara?n to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kirchner Clara?n, firm in the HBR case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War | 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kirchner Clara?n in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kirchner Clara?n to increase its market reach. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kirchner Clara?n can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Kirchner Clara?n in the consumer business. Now Kirchner Clara?n can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kirchner Clara?n can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kirchner Clara?n 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 Kirchner Clara?n to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kirchner Clara?n is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kirchner Clara?n has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kirchner Clara?n to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War case study. Kirchner Clara?n can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Kirchner Clara?n can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kirchner Clara?n 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 Global Business segment.
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 Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Kirchner Clara?n 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. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
Threats "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War are -
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. Kirchner Clara?n 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.
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 Kirchner Clara?n.
Environmental challenges
– Kirchner Clara?n 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. Kirchner Clara?n can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kirchner Clara?n can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War, Kirchner Clara?n may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
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 Kirchner Clara?n in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kirchner Clara?n with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Kirchner Clara?n needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business 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 Kirchner Clara?n in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kirchner Clara?n 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War .
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 Kirchner Clara?n business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 "ClarA?n Lies!": Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War 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 Kirchner Clara?n needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
