New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002
The U.S. choice to go to war with Iraq, beginning in March 2003, was enormously consequential. This two-part case, developed for an HKS course called "Power Shifts: Understanding Global Change Through History," goes back in time to trace the evolution of American policy toward Iraq prior to 9/11, and the shift in thinking that led to war with Iraq during the administration of George W. Bush. The two parts of the case cover different parts of the chronology. While each could be used on its own, they are intended for use together. The (A) case, subtitled "The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002," briefly summarizes US policy toward Iraq after World War II, in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, and during the Persian Gulf War. It describes the frustrations inherent in the "aggressive containment" approach in the decade following. The case describes Bush Administration thinking about Iraq before 9/11, and the shift in thinking after that attack, including tensions within the Administration. The case ends in September 2002, with a tense battle between Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell over what President Bush should say about Iraq in his upcoming September 12 address to the United Nations. The (B) case, subtitled "The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003," begins with the President's address to the UN, and continues with the Administration's efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress and the United Nations that Iraq was manufacturing WMD, the simultaneous pursuit of a diplomacy track while preparing for war, and negotiations with a critical U.S. ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The case ends with President George W. Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein-that he and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours, or face war with the United States. Case number 2130.0
Swot Analysis of "New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002" written by Pamela Varley, Arne Westad includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Iraq War facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Leadership and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Iraq War, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Iraq War 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Iraq War
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 Iraq War
Strengths New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Iraq War in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Iraq War 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Iraq War is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Iraq War has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Iraq War 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.
Training and development
– Iraq War has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Iraq War digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Iraq War 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Iraq War 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Iraq War 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 Iraq War in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Iraq War 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.
Analytics focus
– Iraq War 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 Pamela Varley, Arne Westad 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.
Learning organization
- Iraq War 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 Iraq War is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Iraq War in the sector have low bargaining power. New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Iraq War to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 Iraq War 's lucrative customers.
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 Iraq War supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Iraq War vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 Iraq War has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Iraq War 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Iraq War 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Iraq War 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Iraq War is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Iraq War needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Iraq War 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, Iraq War is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Iraq War 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002, in the dynamic environment Iraq War has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Iraq War has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002, 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.
Opportunities New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 | 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 are -
Loyalty marketing
– Iraq War 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, Iraq War 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 Iraq War has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Iraq War to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 case study. Iraq War can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Iraq War 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Iraq War can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Iraq War can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Iraq War 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. Iraq War 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Iraq War to increase its market reach. Iraq War 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
– Iraq War 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Iraq War to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Iraq War can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Iraq War 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 Iraq War to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Iraq War can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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.
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. Iraq War can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 are -
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. Iraq War can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Iraq War is facing in Global Business 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002, Iraq War may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Iraq War in the Global Business industry. The Global Business industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Iraq War 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.
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. Iraq War needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Iraq War 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. Iraq War can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Iraq War 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.
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 Iraq War.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Iraq War business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Iraq War in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Iraq War with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (A): The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002 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 Iraq War needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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