Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited

The chief executive officer of Scotbar Proprietary Limited (Scotbar) in Queensland, Australia, decided to develop a process to convert sandstone to sand, a technique that large multinational mining companies failed to perfect. The stakes could not have been higher, with global environmental disaster looming and the world quickly depleting its reserves of construction sand, severely affecting coastal communities and destroying marine ecosystems in the process. After spending years and millions of dollars on research, Scotbar appeared to have developed a process to produce construction sand, although more expensive than natural sand. Scotbar decided not to patent its process in hopes that more companies would adopt it and thereby reduce the harmful impact of mining on the environment. Was Scotbar's approach to sustainability through innovation an effective response to the environmental legacy of more traditional mining processes? Was the company's approach to intellectual property appropriate in this context? David T.A. Wesley and Sheila Puffer are affiliated with Northeastern University. Belinda Wade is affiliated with University of Queensland.

Authors :: David T.A. Wesley, Belinda Wade, Sheila M. Puffer

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: International business, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited" written by David T.A. Wesley, Belinda Wade, Sheila M. Puffer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Scotbar Sand facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Scotbar Sand, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Scotbar Sand 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Scotbar Sand
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Scotbar Sand

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Strengths Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Scotbar Sand in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Scotbar Sand is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High brand equity

– Scotbar Sand has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Scotbar Sand to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Scotbar Sand 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.

Organizational Resilience of Scotbar Sand

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Scotbar Sand does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Analytics focus

– Scotbar Sand 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 David T.A. Wesley, Belinda Wade, Sheila M. Puffer 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Scotbar Sand is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Scotbar Sand digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Scotbar Sand 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Scotbar Sand has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Scotbar Sand 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Scotbar Sand in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Innovation driven organization

– Scotbar Sand is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Training and development

– Scotbar Sand has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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.

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Weaknesses Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Scotbar Sand has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Scotbar Sand 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.

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 Scotbar Sand supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Scotbar Sand vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited, it seems that the employees of Scotbar Sand 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Scotbar Sand 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Scotbar Sand 's lucrative customers.

Lack of clear differentiation of Scotbar Sand products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Scotbar Sand 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Scotbar Sand is planning to shift buying processes online.

Need for greater diversity

– Scotbar Sand has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Scotbar Sand is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Scotbar Sand needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Scotbar Sand to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Scotbar Sand is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

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Opportunities Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited | 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited are -

Developing new processes and practices

– Scotbar Sand can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Scotbar Sand 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Scotbar Sand to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Scotbar Sand to increase its market reach. Scotbar Sand 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Scotbar Sand can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

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 Scotbar Sand in the consumer business. Now Scotbar Sand can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Scotbar Sand 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Scotbar Sand 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Scotbar Sand has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Scotbar Sand to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited case study. Scotbar Sand can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Scotbar Sand 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 Scotbar Sand to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Scotbar Sand in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Scotbar Sand is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Scotbar Sand 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Scotbar Sand 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.

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Threats Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited are -

Increasing wage structure of Scotbar Sand

– 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 Scotbar Sand.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Scotbar Sand with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Scotbar Sand can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Scotbar Sand 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.

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 Scotbar Sand in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Scotbar Sand 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Scotbar Sand has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Scotbar Sand needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Scotbar Sand is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited, Scotbar Sand may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Scotbar Sand 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.

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 Scotbar Sand.

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 Scotbar Sand business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Mining and Corporate Social Responsibility: Scotbar Proprietary Limited 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 Scotbar Sand needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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