Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas

In the summer of 2014, a large energy company was poised to begin expanding its unconventional natural gas operations in northeastern British Columbia in the hopes of capitalizing on the Canadian province's determination to build a liquid natural gas industry. The company had secured mineral rights from the province but had not simultaneously pursued surface rights from a First Nation community that historically had used the land. When a seismic exploration team appeared on the tribe's traditional territory without consulting it, as was customary (and in some cases legally required), the company unwittingly ignited a firestorm of protest from both First Nation and non First Nation local citizens. Recognizing the importance of social acceptance both to operations and profitability, the company sent senior vice president Maria Paquet to participate in fireside discussions with tribal, regional government, and environmental leaders in the hopes of finding some common ground. Could these leaders arrive at sufficient trust and agreement to allow the company to move forward with its plans? Or would the company face gridlock, community blocking, or even financial peril? In a small-group role-playing exercise, students will step into the shoes of each of these stakeholders as they try to forge a path forward that is acceptable to all.

Authors :: Jamie Jones, Peter Bryant, Charlotte Snyder

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Conflict, Negotiations, Policy, Public relations, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas" written by Jamie Jones, Peter Bryant, Charlotte Snyder includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nation Gas facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Negotiations, Policy, Public relations, Social responsibility and Sales & Marketing.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nation Gas, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nation Gas 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nation Gas
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nation Gas

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Strengths Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Nation Gas in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

– Nation Gas has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nation Gas 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.

Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nation Gas digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nation Gas 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Nation Gas is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Analytics focus

– Nation Gas 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 Jamie Jones, Peter Bryant, Charlotte Snyder 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Nation Gas is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Nation Gas 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.

Organizational Resilience of Nation Gas

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nation Gas does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nation Gas to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nation Gas to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Nation Gas in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Nation Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Nation Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

– Nation Gas 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 Nation Gas in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

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Weaknesses Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas are -

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, in the dynamic environment Nation Gas has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nation Gas 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 Nation Gas supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nation Gas vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nation Gas 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Nation Gas products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nation Gas needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Nation Gas 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 - Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Nation Gas 's lucrative customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Nation Gas 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas HBR case study mentions - Nation Gas 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Nation Gas, firm in the HBR case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, it seems that the employees of Nation Gas 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.

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Opportunities Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas | 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas are -

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nation Gas 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Nation Gas 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nation Gas 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 Nation Gas to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Buying journey improvements

– Nation Gas can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Nation Gas has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nation Gas to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas case study. Nation Gas can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nation Gas 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, Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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 Nation Gas 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.

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 Nation Gas in the consumer business. Now Nation Gas can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Nation Gas can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Manufacturing automation

– Nation Gas can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Developing new processes and practices

– Nation Gas can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nation Gas 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. Nation Gas 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 Nation Gas to increase its market reach. Nation Gas 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.

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Threats Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas are -

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 Nation Gas.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Nation Gas 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Nation Gas is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Nation Gas 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Nation Gas has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nation Gas needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nation Gas with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Nation Gas 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Nation Gas 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, Nation Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas .

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nation Gas in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nation Gas can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas, Nation Gas may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Nation Gas needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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