New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003
Supplement to case KS1267. 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 2131.0
Swot Analysis of "New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003" written by Arne Westad, Pamela Varley 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 | 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Iraq War 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Iraq War is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Iraq War is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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
– Iraq War is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Iraq War
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Iraq War does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
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.
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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 | 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Iraq War is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003, 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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003, 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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.
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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Iraq War products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Iraq War needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Iraq War 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. Iraq War 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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Iraq War 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 - New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 | 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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. 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Iraq War can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Iraq War operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Iraq War 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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Iraq War 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Iraq War 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, New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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 Iraq War in the consumer business. Now Iraq War can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Iraq War in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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.
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 Iraq War 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.
Threats New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 are -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Iraq War 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 New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 .
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Iraq War has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Iraq War needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Iraq War 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.
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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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