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 - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Iraq War in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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 Arne Westad, Pamela Varley 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.
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.
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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Iraq War to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Iraq War to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Iraq War has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Iraq War to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Iraq War 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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 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 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Iraq War 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Iraq War, 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 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As New Peril, Old Adversary: George W. Bush, 9/11, & Iraq (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 HBR case study mentions - Iraq War 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003 case study. Iraq War can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Iraq War 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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 (B): The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003, 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 .
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.
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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