First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources
The case describes the battle between First Quantum Mineral and Eurasian Resources over mines in Democratic Republic of Congo. After FQM's license to operate was revoked by the government of the DRC, Eurasian bought the rights over the mines that were previously under FQM's control raising questions about the effectiveness of corporate governance at Eurasian.
Authors :: George Serafeim, Andrew Knauer
Topics :: Finance & Accounting
Tags :: Boards, Government, Risk management, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Sustainability, Transparency, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources" written by George Serafeim, Andrew Knauer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Eurasian Fqm's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Government, Risk management, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Sustainability, Transparency and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Eurasian Fqm's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Eurasian Fqm's 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Eurasian Fqm's
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 Eurasian Fqm's
Strengths First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Eurasian Fqm's in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Eurasian Fqm's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Eurasian Fqm's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Eurasian Fqm's in the sector have low bargaining power. First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Eurasian Fqm's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Eurasian Fqm's 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
– Eurasian Fqm's 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 George Serafeim, Andrew Knauer 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.
Training and development
– Eurasian Fqm's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Eurasian Fqm's 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Eurasian Fqm's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Eurasian Fqm's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Eurasian Fqm's 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 Eurasian Fqm's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Eurasian Fqm's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Eurasian Fqm's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Eurasian Fqm's 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 Eurasian Fqm's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, is just above the industry average. Eurasian Fqm's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, it seems that the employees of Eurasian Fqm's 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, George Serafeim, Andrew Knauer suggests that, Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Eurasian Fqm's, firm in the HBR case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Eurasian Fqm's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Eurasian Fqm's 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, Eurasian Fqm's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, in the dynamic environment Eurasian Fqm's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Eurasian Fqm's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Eurasian Fqm's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Eurasian Fqm's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources | 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Eurasian Fqm's 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Eurasian Fqm's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Eurasian Fqm's in the consumer business. Now Eurasian Fqm's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Eurasian Fqm's 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. Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Eurasian Fqm's to increase its market reach. Eurasian Fqm's 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.
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. Eurasian Fqm's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Eurasian Fqm's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Eurasian Fqm's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Eurasian Fqm's 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, First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Eurasian Fqm's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Eurasian Fqm's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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.
Threats First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Eurasian Fqm's 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.
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 Eurasian Fqm's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources, Eurasian Fqm's 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 .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Eurasian Fqm's
– 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 Eurasian Fqm's.
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. Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Eurasian Fqm's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Eurasian Fqm's 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources .
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 Eurasian Fqm's.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Eurasian Fqm's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Eurasian Fqm's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Eurasian Fqm's in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Eurasian Fqm's in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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 First Quantum Minerals vs. Eurasian Natural Resources 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 Eurasian Fqm's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
