Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market
In a few decades starting in the 1990s through the early 2000s, Reliance Industries had emerged as a powerhouse in the oil and gas business. It cemented its global reputation by adopting innovative approaches to articulating an integrated business model that would span the entire value chain from exploration to petrochemicals. Much of its success revolved around its execution prowess and its ability to deliver projects well under budget and ahead of schedule, a field of expertise that had traditionally been dominated by the more established supermajors in the industry such as ExxonMobil. This case study addresses the evolution of the company from a fairly small-scale textile manufacturer to a global powerhouse, with specific focus on the way in which the company intertwined its sources of competitive advantage (e.g., location, project execution, relationship building, and financial acumen) to establish a winning proposition. The case allows for a rich thematic discussion around understanding the modes of competition adopted by companies from newly industrializing contexts.
Swot Analysis of "Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market" written by Kannan Ramaswamy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Execution Reliance facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Execution Reliance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Execution Reliance 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Execution Reliance
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Execution Reliance
Strengths Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Execution Reliance in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Execution Reliance 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.
Learning organization
- Execution Reliance 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 Execution Reliance is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Execution Reliance is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Execution Reliance 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 Execution Reliance in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Execution Reliance digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Execution Reliance 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Execution Reliance in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Execution Reliance is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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.
Organizational Resilience of Execution Reliance
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Execution Reliance does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Execution Reliance has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Execution Reliance 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Execution Reliance 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Execution Reliance to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Execution Reliance to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Execution Reliance is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Execution Reliance products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Execution Reliance needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Execution Reliance is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Execution Reliance needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Execution Reliance to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Execution Reliance 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market, it seems that the employees of Execution Reliance don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Execution Reliance is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Execution Reliance 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Execution Reliance 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 - Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market, is just above the industry average. Execution Reliance 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market HBR case study mentions - Execution Reliance 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, Execution Reliance 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.
Opportunities Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market | 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market are -
Loyalty marketing
– Execution Reliance 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.
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. Execution Reliance can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Execution Reliance is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Execution Reliance can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Execution Reliance 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Execution Reliance to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Execution Reliance to increase its market reach. Execution Reliance 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Execution Reliance 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Execution Reliance 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. Execution Reliance can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Execution Reliance 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Execution Reliance 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 Execution Reliance to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Execution Reliance can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Execution Reliance in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Execution Reliance can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Execution Reliance operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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. Execution Reliance needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Execution Reliance in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market, Execution Reliance may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Execution Reliance with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Execution Reliance 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 Execution Reliance in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Execution Reliance has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Execution Reliance needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Execution Reliance 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Execution Reliance 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market .
Increasing wage structure of Execution Reliance
– 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 Execution Reliance.
Environmental challenges
– Execution Reliance 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. Execution Reliance can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Execution Reliance is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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 Reliance Industries: Building Execution Excellence in an Emerging Market 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 Execution Reliance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.