Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version
What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to value an investment opportunity that has several stages. Given that it is a privatization, students are also forced to consider the political dynamics involved, the incentives of local managers, and the bidding process of a privatization. The case provides detailed cash flows and discount rate information, allowing students to conduct a thorough valuation for an emerging markets project. To obtain executable spreadsheets (courseware), please contact our customer service department at custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu.
Swot Analysis of "Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version" written by Mihir A. Desai, Alexandra De Royere includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pbb Privatization facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Financial analysis, Financial management, Mergers & acquisitions, Negotiations, Project management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pbb Privatization, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pbb Privatization 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pbb Privatization
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 Pbb Privatization
Strengths Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pbb Privatization in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Pbb Privatization in the sector have low bargaining power. Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Pbb Privatization to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Pbb Privatization 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 Pbb Privatization is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pbb Privatization in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pbb Privatization 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pbb Privatization to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pbb Privatization to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pbb Privatization is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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
– Pbb Privatization is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pbb Privatization has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pbb Privatization 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Pbb Privatization has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Pbb Privatization is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Pbb Privatization 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Pbb Privatization is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Pbb Privatization has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pbb Privatization has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mihir A. Desai, Alexandra De Royere suggests that, Pbb Privatization 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Pbb Privatization has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Pbb Privatization takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Pbb Privatization 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pbb Privatization 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pbb Privatization products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pbb Privatization needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Pbb Privatization supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pbb Privatization vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Pbb Privatization 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 - Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version | 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pbb Privatization 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
– Pbb Privatization 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.
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. Pbb Privatization can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Pbb Privatization 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pbb Privatization 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pbb Privatization to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pbb Privatization 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, Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pbb Privatization can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Pbb Privatization can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pbb Privatization 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 Pbb Privatization to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pbb Privatization can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pbb Privatization operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Pbb Privatization can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pbb Privatization has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pbb Privatization to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version case study. Pbb Privatization can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Pbb Privatization 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. Pbb Privatization 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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. Pbb Privatization 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pbb Privatization 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version .
Regulatory challenges
– Pbb Privatization 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pbb Privatization is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Pbb Privatization in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Pbb Privatization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pbb Privatization with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Pbb Privatization 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 Pbb Privatization 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.
Increasing wage structure of Pbb Privatization
– 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 Pbb Privatization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pbb Privatization has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pbb Privatization 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina, Spanish Version 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 Pbb Privatization needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
