ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia
During the summer of 2014, Alan Knight, General Manager of Corporate Responsibility at the integrated steel and mining company ArcelorMittal, observed the unfolding of an Ebola epidemic in Liberia and other countries in West Africa with great concern. On the one hand was the sheer tragedy of the calamity that struck the poverty-stricken country, recently emerged from a long and painful civil war; on the other, the fact that ArcelorMittal's mining concession in Liberia was a crucial part of the company's business going forward. How was ArcelorMittal to face the mounting crisis? What response did it owe its employees? Its shareholders? Its stakeholders? Given the low state capacity in Liberia, ArcelorMittal helped organize a private sector response to the crisis, and, as a pandemic finally was averted, he wondered what lessons to draw from the experience.
Authors :: Sophus A Reinert, Sarah Nam, Sisi Pan, Eric Werker
Swot Analysis of "ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia" written by Sophus A Reinert, Sarah Nam, Sisi Pan, Eric Werker includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Arcelormittal Liberia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Economics, Economy, Emerging markets, Ethics, Government, Personnel policies, Public relations, Strategy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Arcelormittal Liberia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Arcelormittal Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Arcelormittal Liberia
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 Arcelormittal Liberia
Strengths ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Arcelormittal Liberia in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Arcelormittal Liberia in the sector have low bargaining power. ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Arcelormittal Liberia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Arcelormittal Liberia is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Arcelormittal Liberia digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Arcelormittal Liberia is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Arcelormittal Liberia to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Arcelormittal Liberia to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Arcelormittal Liberia has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Arcelormittal Liberia is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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.
Training and development
– Arcelormittal Liberia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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.
High brand equity
– Arcelormittal Liberia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Arcelormittal Liberia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Arcelormittal Liberia has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Arcelormittal Liberia even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Arcelormittal Liberia 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 - ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia, in the dynamic environment Arcelormittal Liberia has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Arcelormittal Liberia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Arcelormittal Liberia, firm in the HBR case study ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Arcelormittal Liberia is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Arcelormittal Liberia needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Arcelormittal Liberia to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Opportunities ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia | 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia are -
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. Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia in the consumer business. Now Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Arcelormittal Liberia 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. Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
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 Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Arcelormittal Liberia can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Arcelormittal Liberia operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Arcelormittal Liberia to increase its market reach. Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Arcelormittal Liberia to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Threats ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
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. Arcelormittal Liberia can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Arcelormittal Liberia
– 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 Arcelormittal Liberia.
Environmental challenges
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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. Arcelormittal Liberia can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Global Business industry regulations.
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. Arcelormittal Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia.
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 Arcelormittal Liberia business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Arcelormittal Liberia is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Arcelormittal Liberia high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Arcelormittal Liberia 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. Arcelormittal Liberia needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia 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 Arcelormittal Liberia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.