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 - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc

---

---

---

---

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.

---

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

---

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 -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Strong track record of project management

– Nation Gas is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

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.

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.

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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Nation Gas is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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.

High brand equity

– Nation Gas has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nation Gas to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

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.

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.

Training and development

– Nation Gas has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Nation Gas 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.

---

---

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 -

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.

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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nation Gas is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jamie Jones, Peter Bryant, Charlotte Snyder suggests that, Nation Gas is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Nation Gas is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Nation Gas needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nation Gas to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

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.

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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Nation Gas 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Nation Gas 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas 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 Mending the Fractures: Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Building Shared Purpose in Unconventional Oil and Gas can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nation Gas is planning to shift buying processes online.

---

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 -

Leveraging digital technologies

– Nation Gas 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nation Gas in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nation Gas 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Nation Gas 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 Sales & Marketing segment.

---

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 -

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.

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 Nation Gas in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

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. Nation Gas needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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 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.

---

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.

--- ---