Swot Analysis of "The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E)" written by Benjamin C. Esty, Aldo Sesia includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Chad Cameroon facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Ethics, Project management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Chad Cameroon, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Chad Cameroon 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Chad Cameroon
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Chad Cameroon
Strengths The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Chad Cameroon in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Chad Cameroon 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 Chad Cameroon in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Chad Cameroon is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Chad Cameroon has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Chad Cameroon is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Chad Cameroon 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Chad Cameroon to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Chad Cameroon to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Chad Cameroon digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Chad Cameroon 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.
Analytics focus
– Chad Cameroon 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 Benjamin C. Esty, Aldo Sesia 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Chad Cameroon in the sector have low bargaining power. The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Chad Cameroon to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Chad Cameroon is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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.
Learning organization
- Chad Cameroon 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 Chad Cameroon is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Chad Cameroon 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. Chad Cameroon 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Chad Cameroon is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Chad Cameroon is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Chad Cameroon needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Chad Cameroon to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) HBR case study mentions - Chad Cameroon 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Chad Cameroon products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Chad Cameroon needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Chad Cameroon is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Chad Cameroon, firm in the HBR case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E), in the dynamic environment Chad Cameroon has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Chad Cameroon 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E), it seems that the employees of Chad Cameroon 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Chad Cameroon 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Chad Cameroon 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.
Opportunities The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) | 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Chad Cameroon 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. Chad Cameroon 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 Chad Cameroon to increase its market reach. Chad Cameroon 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.
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 Chad Cameroon 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Chad Cameroon 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Chad Cameroon in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Chad Cameroon 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Chad Cameroon 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 Chad Cameroon to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Chad Cameroon can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Chad Cameroon can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Chad Cameroon can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Chad Cameroon can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Chad Cameroon is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Chad Cameroon has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Chad Cameroon to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) case study. Chad Cameroon can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Chad Cameroon is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Chad Cameroon business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E), Chad Cameroon may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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. Chad Cameroon 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Chad Cameroon 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Chad Cameroon has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Chad Cameroon needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Chad Cameroon needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Chad Cameroon can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Chad Cameroon 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Chad Cameroon 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.
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 Chad Cameroon in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Chad Cameroon 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Chad Cameroon with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project (E) 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 Chad Cameroon needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.