UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change
UAE Exchange began operations in 1980 and, through the years, established itself as a global remittance, foreign exchange and payroll solutions brand. Investing extensively in its people by adopting innovative practices, UAE Exchange won appreciation from its customers and employees alike. In 2008, the global financial crisis adversely impacted the Middle East and forced many expatriates to return to their home countries. With fewer people remitting money, UAE Exchange lost considerable market share. Leaders at UAE Exchange sensed an urgent need for change and made several strategic moves to navigate this challenge. The new direction proved successful, and management was then faced with the challenge of sustaining the momentum. The case asks students to identify the various positive practices that an organization could implement for change. It covers the importance of developing employee strengths, generating positive relationships and emotions, enhancing employee engagement, and supporting customer focus. After reading this case, students will gain a conceptual framework of organizational excellence in a competitive industry. Students will be able to identify the practices of positive organizational behavior, employee engagement, and positive change that can be applied at any corporation. In addition, students will build opinions on the key factors in developing and maintaining positive relationships in an organization with employees and customers from different nationalities.
Authors :: Wayne Baker, Thomas Joseph, Raina Chhajer
Swot Analysis of "UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change" written by Wayne Baker, Thomas Joseph, Raina Chhajer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Uae Positive facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Uae Positive, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Uae Positive 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Uae Positive
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Uae Positive
Strengths UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Uae Positive in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Uae Positive 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 Uae Positive in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Uae Positive 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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.
Organizational Resilience of Uae Positive
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Uae Positive does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Uae Positive digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Uae Positive 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Uae Positive to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Uae Positive to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Uae Positive 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 Uae Positive is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Uae Positive in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Uae Positive has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Uae Positive 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Uae Positive in the sector have low bargaining power. UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Uae Positive to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Uae Positive has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Uae Positive to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Uae Positive 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.
Weaknesses UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Uae Positive 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Uae Positive 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Uae Positive 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 Uae Positive 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Wayne Baker, Thomas Joseph, Raina Chhajer suggests that, Uae Positive 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Uae Positive 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Uae Positive is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Uae Positive is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Uae Positive is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Uae Positive needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Uae Positive to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 Uae Positive has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Uae Positive, firm in the HBR case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change | 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Uae Positive has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Uae Positive to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change case study. Uae Positive can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Uae Positive can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Uae Positive can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
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. Uae Positive can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Uae Positive 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Uae Positive 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. Uae Positive 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
– Uae Positive can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Uae Positive 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Uae Positive 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Uae Positive to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Uae Positive is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Uae Positive 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 Uae Positive to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Uae Positive 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Uae Positive can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Threats UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Uae Positive in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
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 Uae Positive in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Uae Positive is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Uae Positive 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Uae Positive has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Uae Positive needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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
– Uae Positive 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.
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.
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.
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. Uae Positive needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Uae Positive 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Uae Positive 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change, Uae Positive may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Increasing wage structure of Uae Positive
– 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 Uae Positive.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change 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 Uae Positive needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.