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 - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, 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 -
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.
Analytics focus
– Uae Positive 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 Wayne Baker, Thomas Joseph, Raina Chhajer 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
– Uae Positive is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Uae Positive is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
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.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Uae Positive is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
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 -
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.
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 Uae Positive supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Uae Positive vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
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.
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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Uae Positive 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.
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Uae Positive 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 - UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Uae Positive has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Uae Positive even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
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 -
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Uae Positive 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.
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.
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.
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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Uae Positive 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, UAE Exchange: The RACE to Positive Organizational Change, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Uae Positive can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Uae Positive to increase its market reach. Uae Positive 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Uae Positive can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Uae Positive operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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.
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 Uae Positive in the consumer business. Now Uae Positive can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Uae Positive needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Uae Positive can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 .
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.
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 Uae Positive.
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.
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.
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.
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. Uae Positive 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.
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.
